Viscosity
by TsukinoSora
Summary: Blood is thicker than water. Or so they've all been told. [SasuSaku, NaruHina, KakaSaku if you squint. Full summary inside.]
1. Breakwater

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**VISCOSITY**

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**Word Count:** 2806  
**Pairings: **SasuSaku, NaruHina, hints of Kakasaku if you squint  
**Setting: **All over the place  
**Time:** After the end of chapter 699 in the manga, but with a mix of anime elements  
**Genre:** Adventure, Romance, and Suspense  
**Rating:** Pg13 I suppose… for now anyway  
**Disclaimer:** Naruto and its characters are copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. The anime is produced by Viz Media and Studio Pierrot / Aniplex. I am merely borrowing the characters for my and your amusement, like everyone else on ffnet.

**Summary:** Sakura is sent to a foreign land to help the dream of the Kage become a reality; Sasuke seeks redemption in this ninja world. Naruto and Karin comb through rubble on a forgotten island. Tsunade, Hinata and the rest of Konoha seek to rebuild Konoha while Kakashi transitions into being Hokage. Mei seeks desperately to repair what war and the fourth Mizukage have destroyed in the Land of Water. It seems as if the shinobi have been scattered to the winds, just as the Uzumaki were years and years ago. As Karin and Naruto learn more about their ancestry, everyone begins to see just how much the Land of Whirlpools has permeated the waters of the earth. A new kind of war is emerging, and everyone begins to truly understand Hashirama's words: "There is always fighting, no matter what the era." In clan versus village, where do their loyalties lie?

**Author's Note:** _SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES! _Don't say I didn't warn you. Also, this is a mix of Aussie, American, and English spelling. I'm a mixed breed myself

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_Breakwater_

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Salt and sound and water and earth filled the air, as a soft breeze blew against her face. Amid the chatter of the sea-bound travelers and the calls of the seagulls stood a young woman with emerald eyes and rose-coloured hair. Haruno Sakura waited at the edge of the wooden dock, trying to take in the scene before her. With wide eyes she saw the giant ships enter and exit the port as she listened to sounds of clanging metals, creaks and clicks on the boards beneath her feet, gay whoops and cheers of the sailors who had returned to shore, and wind pushing against sails of the massive junks, the trabaccolos, the schooners. Once in a while a rudder would begin to churn the water, the vibration eventually reaching under her feet… Sometimes a steam ship would let out a blaring sigh to signal its departure or arrival. In the quieter moments, when for one reason or another everything piped down, she could even hear the small waves crash against the sand or the sloshing of ocean against ship.

She found these new arias both exciting and comforting – she had been in ports only a few times before, and never had she taken the time to really let the experience sink in. Perhaps this wasn't the type of beach music people talked about, the kind that relaxed them and calmed them down with sounds of serene tides and the occasional gull, but she liked it all the same. Maybe it was the sense of adventure slowly creeping through her body. Maybe it was just the smell of fresh sea air.

The only thing that disappointed her was that it wasn't a particularly sunny day; rather it was slightly overcast, but not murky. She didn't sense any storms coming and by the talk of the people bustling around her it seemed no one else did either. It was just a dull grey sky, and she didn't like how it echoed her inner qualms about everything. Some days the world was just so sad and lonely. Today the chimes of port life almost drowned her solitude out.

She was standing on the edge of the wooden planks, watching for her vessel to come about. As the wind picked up bits of her hair, she closed her eyes, remembering what had brought her here in the first place.

* * *

"_War never ends, Sakura. Nations are destroyed. Homes are burnt to the ground. Wounds need rehabilitation for years, decades even. People are left with scars on the inside and out. I'm sure you've started seeing that with your work now."_

The Fifth Hokage had said this while straightening a stack of papers with a single _thump_ on her desk, but never taking her eyes from her apprentice. They had been alone in her office, although with the matter being discussed, Sakura had felt as if all eyes were on her at the time.

"_I didn't want to give you up, I really didn't. I wanted you here for so many things. But at this point, it's been over a year since the battle ended, and this project is close to failure. There is no one more suited than you to lead these people."_

"_But why me? I mean, why me, _now_?"_

"_Because we need a place other than the Land of Iron for neutrality. We need a refuge for the disabled and the ill. And we've needed to stabilise this area for quite a long time. There were just always other pressing matters."_

"_Tsunade-sama, you still haven't answered my question. I'm not even a team leader or anything yet. How can I run an entire school by myself? Is that even what I'm doing? And what if-"_

"_Sakura." Tsunade said her name matter-of-factly and put her papers down. "Do you think I haven't noticed you skulking around here, peering out windows in your forlorn way in between hospital work and running errands for me?"_

_Sakura looked down, slightly ashamed. "I thought that I… Well…" She trailed off._

"_Hid it well? Not from me. You used to daydream, like any other girl. Now you're just distracted. And I don't like the bags under your eyes. They don't go well with your new mark of healing."_

"_I have no need to look young and beautiful, Tsunade-sama. You're beautiful enough for the both of us."_

_Tsunade smirked. If her pink-haired pupil was attempting to get out of this assignment through flattery, it wasn't going to work. Knowing Sakura, it probably wasn't. But she acted on the remark as if it were one of evasion anyway. "Are you trying to get out of your duties, my student?"_

"_No. I'm not. I just…" She trailed off again._

"_Listen to yourself. You don't sound like you at all. Where is the confident young kunoichi who helped me save so many shinobi in the fight against Obito? Where is the woman who protected herself against Madara? Lately you've been off. Anyone can tell."_

_Sakura shifted her feet. At times like this she felt like she was 12 years old again. "Well which is it? Are you sending me away to make me better or to save the nation?" She didn't know whether Tsunade was purposefully jumping around subjects or whether she just wasn't listening. Recently, with her thoughts always somewhere else, she'd acquired the annoying habit._

_Tsunade sighed. "Both. The other Kage and I have wanted to create a Land of Healing, if you will, for a while. And it's not really a nation, which is the problem. This archipelago has never been allied with Water, Lighting, or Fire, though it sits between all of us. You probably passed it on your way to get herbs with Ino before the 4__th__ war began, although it wouldn't have been on your agenda to go looking there. The ninja here are somewhat cantankerous and didn't participate in the war. I believe you met some of them – the red ninja?"_

_She back-tracked her thoughts until she recalled Bando, the chestnut-haired Jonin and the giant abacus he strapped to his back. "The Benisu? Those merchants from Benisu Island?"_

"_Yes. They insist on calling themselves a nation, however they won't ally with a larger home country. Even though they have an amazing trade system in place at Benisu Island, so much of their little country is either kept secret or fought over that we're not even sure what their resources are. We know they're the closest to Nanakusa, which makes them an ideal location for a neutral hospital and rehabilitation centre. But we've had to send a team there just to try and learn about their government and history before starting any negotiations. And once negotiations began, so did the trouble."_

"_Is this what those skirmishes in the East were all about?"_

"_Yes. There's something else though, Sakura." Tsunade folded her fingers together on the table. "The Benisu warmed up to the idea of building a hospital once we made it clear that they wouldn't have to become part of a larger nation. However, the hospital can't be built when they're in their current state. Besides the skirmishes, the Benisu are also under attack by something more sinister."_

_Sakura waited for her to continue, but Tsunade gave great pause before finishing. "I haven't read about anyone invading neutral islands. Who's attacking them?" She queried._

"…_A virus. It's not who, but what. Though a few cases have been reported in the Land of Water and the Land of Lightning, we've been able to contain it. Benisu Island has not been so lucky. Nor have a few trade ships which passed through their port. One in particular, from the Land of Lightning, was never heard from again. We think its sailors became infected and none survived."_

_Her statement hung in the air like a heavy cloud. "What of the people sent from the 5 nations? Are they alive?" Sakura asked._

"_We know at least two are, although there hasn't been much correspondence from them as of late. The Benisu are threatening to close their major ports, since they don't know where the virus came from or will spread to. We think some of them believe one of the five nations brought it there, which has made the situation quite tense. Extra teams have been dispatched to ease the pressure and protect the harbours. We won't know if they're successful for some time."_

"_I've done so much more work with poisons than viruses, Tsunade-sama…"_

"_I'm confident that won't be an issue. You're the smartest and the bravest medic ninja I know, besides myself of course." Tsunade threw her a bone with an arrogant smile._

_Sakura didn't feel quite so brave now. What if she got this horrible virus? What if she couldn't figure anything out at all? But arguing with Tsunade would probably get her nowhere, and the Hokage was probably going to lose her patience soon. Realising that the conversation had already scattered with all of her other thoughts throughout her mind, she swallowed hard and asked:_

"_Where am I going again?"_

_Tsunade crossed her arms in impatience, having already reviewed this. "Hayase no Kuni, Sakura! Haven't you been listening? You leave tomorrow."_

_Sakura knew better than to refuse an order._

* * *

She went home after Tsunade's lecture on where she was to go, when and with whom in order to get to Benisu Island. Fortunately she had written everything down hurriedly so as not to have to ask any more questions revealing just how scatterbrained she had become as of late. She had crawled into bed later that night, making sure to imprint the feeling in her mind since she knew she wouldn't be home for months.

Then she had dreamt of him. She had seen his raven hair and tense muscles. She had smelled his scent of smoke and forest and spices. She had felt his fingers on her forehead, and had heard him telling her, "_I'll see you when I get back._" And then he had come back to her, smiling, at the gates of Konoha. He had wrapped his arms around her like she had always wanted him to.

Then the sun had shown through her window and she had awoken alone as always and she had sighed. _If only it were real._

She had packed the night before and as such had no trouble getting ready to go. The trip to the port at the edge of the Land of Fire was a long one, and even after that she had to travel by sea to reach her final destination, (if she even got there on time.) She was supposed to have been escorted with some fellow ninja, but having been up so early, she had left on her own knowing she'd have to hear about it later. Hopefully would be too far away from Tsunade by the time that happened to be afraid of her monstrous temper. It had been almost soothing after that to be unaccompanied by anything but her thoughts as she flew through the trees. When she had reached the port a few days later, it was a welcome sight.

The whistle from a cruise junk snapped her out of her thoughts. That must be the one. It had giant crimson sails and a mermaid covered in flowers carved into the bow. She rushed over to the dock it was anchoring next to, much farther down the line than she had predicted. _Good thing I packed light.._. she thought. All the people milling about had gotten her excited. She started to feel like her old self again.

A door opened and a small wooden walkway rolled out of it, extending from the ship to the dock. Sailors began to disembark from sparingly, in neatly pressed uniforms. Fumbling in her bag, Sakura found her tickets and presented them to the ship attendant the moment he arrived on the bridge. "Not yet, miss," he told her, pointing to the personnel waiting on the right. He closed the walkway with a small rope. "Everyone has to pass inspection."

_Of course._ She turned to where he had pointed to see the sailors in a line, and she began to understand why their uniforms were so neatly pressed and tidy. A few other passengers arrived after her, only to be told the same thing by the attendant. She walked towards the line with slight trepidation. Next came a succession of personnel who checked her hair for lice, shone lights in her eyes, ears, and mouth, and even pricked her finger. _I guess they're not taking any chances… _she surmised, only reinforcing her caution towards the entire mission. After passing inspections, the small, green-eyed medic was finally back to the first attendant for him to confirm her passes and identification, which had now been autographed with several, "APPROVED" stamps.

The walkway was not terribly long, but she felt as if centuries passed while she walked up it. What was waiting for her on the other side? Everything was already becoming jumbled in her brain.

"_You won't be alone, Sakura." _

The words bubbled up inside of her as she climbed.

"_I'll be along later on, during my transition out of here."_

_Sakura looked up then, with a questioning glance. She couldn't picture a life without Tsunade-sama as Hokage. "I know you've seen the stone face on the mountain. By the time you get back, Kakashi may be the only one running the show. This is the last great thing I can do for you as the leader of Konoha. You've already started the path to surpass me. It's time to keep going. And don't look back. When you return, things will be different... And so will you."_

She had known it was true. Especially if Tsunade was being so giving in the way she spoke. Sakura knew she probably wouldn't hear Tsunade speak of her apprentice surpassing her again, or at least not anytime soon. She had softened in the strangest ways, since the war.

But what if he returned while she was away? She had waited so long for him. She wanted to be there when he came back. She wanted to see if he took to Hashirama's arm the same way Naruto had. She wanted to hear about where he had been, the things he had seen.

Another attendant at the top of the walkway snapped her out of her thoughts once more. "Well hello, my lovely young lady." He looked at her with wrinkles at the corner of his kind eyes and took her tickets. "Miss Haruno, in 252 B? Right this way." The man pointed her in the direction of the stairs she would walk to get to her cabin. "Might I ask what your final destination will be? Usually the second level is for stop-offs before we reach The Land of Lightning." She looked up at him, determined to seem less anxious than she was as she said it:

"The Land of Rapids, sir."

He raised his eyebrows. "Well, good thing you've come on _this_ trip. We might not be passing through that area come next month. Be safe, miss." He left her with a tip of his cap and walked back to escort other passengers to their rooms.

Sakura turned the handle on her cabin door as Tsunade's words echoed in her head.

_When you return, things will be different… _

_Would he be different too?_ She wondered.

_And so will you._

Her hand stopped mid-turn. Breathing in slowly, she closed her eyes. She tried to seal the moment in her mind, inhaling and exhaling deeply to calm her nerves. She could never understand why she had so much precision and control over her chakra, but not her emotions. Sometimes she wondered if she had used her medical ninjustu as just a breakwater for defense against all the times her heart had fissured and cracked over the years. It had done so much to define her character, and served her well in times of need, but now the loneliness and angst which had lain dormant was creeping in against her shield like sediment on the pier. One day, she feared it would erode away completely and then what would she be left with?

Sakura opened her eyes and scowled. _Is this who you want do be?_ She thought to herself. _Is this the person who lets others watch her back?_ No, it wasn't. This moment was opportunity and she needed to seize it before it slipped away. She smiled. _Shannaro!_ She thought. There was no day like today. She could put her bets on Tsunade being right about her and everything else.

_Things will be different… And so will you_. Sakura tightened her grip until she heard the latch click.

Then she opened the door.

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**End of Chapter One**

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**A/N:** This is going to be a very long arc in my Naruto World. For the most part, I've switched back and forth between watching the anime and reading the manga over the years, so it's essentially a mix of both. The Benisu are from an anime filler episode titled, "The Ninja of Benisu," number 224 in Shippuden. I'm trying to use as little original characters as possible but of course there will be some. Let me know if you think something that I write conflicts with the anime or manga. I made up the Land of Rapids or at least I think I did - couldn't find anything about it in any of my research. Oh, and I'm not entirely sure which types of ships are in Naruto so for the most part I just put a mix of a lot of them in. We've only seen sailing ships a couple of times but I figure if they have computers than they probably have steam ships and all sorts of other vessels.

This fic is very Sakura-centric, but we'll get to see through Sasuke's eyes and a few others in the gang. I wanted to create something that played off of how bashful she seemed at the end of 699. And I wanted to make something that contrasted what she ended up doing in 700, since so many people seemed angry at how no one was doing anything important in the epilogue except Naruto. I guess The Last movie will fix some of that, but for me and for now I know that neither Sakura nor anyone else would be the kind to sit around. And I wanted to explore what must be MOUNDS of relationship development and SasuSaku that must've happened in order for Sarada to come about.

Reviews are always appreciated and almost always responded to!


	2. Torrent

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**VISCOSITY**

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**Word Count:** 3985**  
Disclaimer:** Naruto and its characters are copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. The anime is produced by Viz Media and Studio Pierrot / Aniplex. I am merely borrowing the characters for my and your amusement, like everyone else on ffnet.

**Author's Note:** _SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES! _Don't say I didn't warn you. I'm only putting this in the first few chapters, along with the disclaimer.

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_Torrent_

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_He ran through the street so fast he couldn't see the spaces in between the buildings or the cracks in the sidewalk. There was no night sky. There was no ground. There were only bodies. _

_Bodies._

_Bodies of the dead lay everywhere… his cousins. His neighbours… everyone. Everywhere. Dead._

_The creak in his floorboards brought him to another place. Home. Except this house… this room… it smelled of something metallic and sick, and as his eyes slowly crept down the floor he saw why: blood. It seeped from the corpses in front of him all the way to his shadow. The sight paralysed every fiber of his being until he couldn't breathe. _

_Mother… Father…_

_After a million years his body forced him to gasp in heavily, inhaling the pungent insanity before him. He panicked. No… NO! His hands quivered and he lifted his hands up to his head to scream. "Why? WHY?!" he shouted over and over until he was choking on his own tears. From on top of his parents, his brother appeared, gazing at him with a wicked smirk. "Itachi?" he cried. The room spun. "Why did you do this? WHY?!"_

_Itachi laughed and the sound stabbed through the air until it permeated Sasuke's skin, reaching all the way into his bones. "Don't you know, little brother?" he asked as the room started to slow, although the world around him still remained blurry. "You did this, Sasuke. Don't you see? You did this…" Black fire slithered through the grains of the wood on the floor and made its way up the pile of cadavers who used to be his family and Itachi continued to laugh until his flesh sagged and melted off his face. "You took my eyes…" he said as his eyes became empty sockets. "You did this…" Sasuke's hands shook more violently as he brought them to his face; they were doused in blood. His Amaterasu engulfed his entire body along with the rest of the room. Everything burned with him._

_Itachi stared at Sasuke as he became muscle, then skeleton. The room began to dim as he uttered the last of his words… "You did this…" Images of the lifeless bodies of his clan flashed rapidly in his vision. "You did this…"_

_The world went black._

* * *

Sasuke's eyes shot open in the dark, as he awoke panting and covered in sweat. He clenched his right fist around his hair and pulled hard, gritting his teeth to keep from screaming. Even though he twitched, he felt as if every inch of his body was numb. Itachi's melting face was scorched into his mind no matter how hard he kept his eyes open or shut. Still trembling, he tried to tell himself what he always did as he was waking from these nightmares. _Breathe in. Breathe out._ It was the only thing he could do – close his mouth firmly and forcefully breathe in, breathe out. Gradually the world around him came into focus. The smell of blood left him. Here the air smelled of pine. _Breathe in, breathe out._ Of grass. _Breathe in. Breathe out._ Of mountains. _Breathe in. Breathe out._

He'd had the dream for a few nights in a row now. Sometimes he relived the massacre exactly as it had happened. Sometimes he was in Itachi's place, killing his parents with his own hands. Sometimes he just drowned in a torrent of ashes and black flames.

_Breathe in. Breathe out._ Sasuke was coming back to reality. He rolled over onto his back so he was facing the ceiling in the room, although none of his thoughts allowed him to observe it. He was far too preoccupied with his rambling mind to notice the drip in the corner, or the small cracks in the wood beams above his bed. Instead he held his arms above his eyes, comparing his full right hand with what used to be his left one. It was strange, but he could swear he maintained control of the fingers that weren't there… _Still_ he would instinctively reach to sign, or even simply to grab pieces of clothing, before realising that he lacked the necessary appendages to do anything of that nature on his left side. In his travels he'd heard that a man's hands showed who he was, but with him not even having both hands, what did that make him?

Once in a while the thought would sneak up on him, that maybe that saying was true. Because what he was missing on the outside reflected just how empty he was on the inside.

Every time that happened, however, he pushed the thought away. It was getting harder and harder to do so when he awoke from these nightmares and the ghost of his hand continuously attempted to clutch at his hair. There wasn't any fighting it anymore, he'd stayed in this northern nation too long and had not much more to learn. He was also running out of ideas about how to reach his atonement being as crippled as he was. He needed his hand. And he needed to leave. _Time to go back._ He thought.

He was gone before the sun rose. 

* * *

"You let her go by herself?!" Kakashi asked incredulously, holding his aching head. It had only been a few months, but the toll of being Hokage was wearing on him.

"Of course not. I had two ANBU follow her to the port. Don't act like that, Kakashi."

Kakashi sighed. Had he not been burdened with about a million other things, he would have already surmised that Tsunade had done exactly as she had said. But when his student hadn't shown up for him to see her off, and when he was prevented from chasing after her by the plethora of other duties that awaited him with every second that passed, the frustrations of all the recent events had crawled deeper into his muddled mind. And besides, how annoying was it that he wasn't even _that_ late to wish her well this time… He was getting better, anyway. (Although he still never went anywhere without his Itcha Itcha novels, much to the chagrin of all of his advisors.)

"I think if your hair wasn't already grey, it might have turned that way by now, Kakashi. What will you do without me?" Tsunade smirked. Kakashi's silent disgruntlement had started to amuse her as of late, but there was only so much fun she could have with it until they had to get down to business. "She'll be fine. Don't forget, she was my student too."

Kakashi looked at the floor. He knew he wasn't the only one to have noticed how off Sakura had been lately, and he was _positive_ he wasn't the only one to think she was still pining over Sasuke, of all people. He'd even seen Naruto, in the quietest moments, look away to some distant place no one else could see; as if waiting for the last Uchiha to appear on the horizon. There were so many other things to worry about these days that his guilt over the ever-breaking-apart Team Seven lay dormant in the far corners of his thoughts most of the time. But not today.

A knock at the door broke him away from his remorse. Tsunade beckoned it's perpetrator inside.

"You wanted to see me, Tsunade-sama?" The tall, blonde beauty stood at the entrance, still wearing her lab coat from the hospital. "Close the door." Tsunade told her. Ino slowly did as she was told, looking at Kakashi for clues as to her requested presence but finding none. "You can sit down." Tsunade said, her smirk leaving her face.

"Am I… am I in trouble?" Ino asked, taking a chair opposite Tsunade. She looked tired, which most of the young shinobi did these days. But Ino's fatigue was especially justified.

"Nothing of the sort." Kakashi said, folding his arms and leaning against a wall. Although he and Tsunade might be, when she found out her best friend had been sent away in secret.

"Ino. We wanted to thank you for all the hard work you've been putting in lately…"

Ino pursed her lips. What was going to come next? "It's… it's no problem, Tsunade-sama."

"Unfortunately, we're going to have to change plans for you."

"…Okay?" Ino swallowed hard. There were murmurs, this past week that Sakura had been gone. Her absence had left Ino too busy to think straight enough to get as angry as she usually would at such things, but the murmurs lingered around her all the same.

"I know we were going to ask you to be an instructor at the academy after your tenure at the hospital. You had mentioned that you wished to continue to volunteer your free time in developing the communication between medical personnel and to participate in other medical ninjustu training. I know I had told you that you could do both, but that is no longer the case." Tsunade pulled out a red scroll and handed it to Ino.

"So what will I be doing, then?" She asked while attempting to undue the unnecessarily tight knots which held the scroll together. Somehow she had known this was coming.

"Yamanaka Ino." Tsunade said sternly, causing the young kunoichi to look up from her untying struggle. "You have been pivotal in the treatment of veterans from the war. You and Sakura have been instrumental in helping me heal Naruto and guide him through his rehabilitation, among others. And we are indebted to you and your clan's ability to convey messages instantly to those in the surrounding area.

"You are hereby being promoted to the head of a new division being created in the hospital. You are going to help stabilise the communication between medical ninja of the five great nations and assist in the development of new remedies and medications."

For one of the few times in her life, Ino was almost speechless. "Tsu…" she couldn't even finish her sentence.

"I'm sure you've noticed the new construction developing on the southern end of the building?" Kakashi asked her. Ino nodded.

"That will be your wing of the hospital, when it's completed," Kakashi continued. "A large greenhouse will be attached to it where several herbs and flowers are going to be experimented on for treatments and the like. We're calling it the Inoichi ward, after your father."

Ino's eyes watered. The Hokage had almost combined everything she wanted to do into the perfect job. How happy would her father have been to walk through the greenhouse and see his precious blossoms put to such use? "Thank you, Kaka-sen – I mean, Hokage-sama…" she didn't know how to continue without crying. It had been over a year, but still the mention of Inoichi pulled at something in her chest and made her bite her lip.

"I will work alongside you for a little while during my transition out. Then I'll be traveling across the nations, helping you map out the medical networking for everything." Tsunade said.

"Is… well, who else will be working with me?" Ino asked, clutching her scroll to gain control of her emotions. She tried not to be too specific.

Kakashi sighed. "Shizune will be a large part of what you're doing, along with other healers you've been working with lately and hopefully some of your clan. But I'm guessing you're really asking about Sakura?"

Ino looked at him, with wide and trembling eyes. All of her exhaustion, her long nights and longer days, and all of the tears she'd shed for her father and Neji and everything the war had taken from her were sitting on the edge of her heart threatening to tip it over; and sometimes in the midst of all of the sadness all she wanted was simply to talk to her friend. They'd worked their best to heal each other these past few months, from eating ice cream and laughing late into the night to crying on each other's shoulders after what seemed like endless shifts at the hospital. But looking at Kakashi, she realised that same weight which had made her feel like sinking was in his face as well. She didn't have to take off his mask or read his mind to see that they were plagued by the same troubles. She wondered if the Ten Tails haunted his dreams as much as it did hers.

"Sakura's doing something similar to you… However…" Kakashi trailed off.

"She's in the Land of Rapids, Ino." Tsunade finished for him. "You won't find all of this information in your scroll. But we're developing a new centre there similar to what's being built here. You'll get more and more of the intelligence as it becomes unclassified. The area isn't completely… stable, at the moment."

An uncomfortable silence settled over them for a few seconds. "So she _isn't_ here anymore…" Ino said. She wondered how long it would take her to count all the strings in the carpet underneath her feet, and if by the time she was done doing so would she feel less overwhelmed than she did now?

"No." Kakashi replied. "For what it's worth, no one got to say goodbye to her."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, wondering if that was a stab at how hurriedly she'd sent her pupil away or a stab at Sakura herself for leaving early. "We were reaching a point where we might lose the ability to send anyone there for a while and I had to act quickly. I'm sorry, Ino. I know you've had to take on many of her duties. But with your new assignments, I promise you will be in touch with her. You'll be apart, but still working together towards the same goal."

Ino stood up from her chair, arms slightly shaking. She wanted to scream at the world, for taking away yet another of her treasured loved ones, although she knew it wasn't the same as losing her for good. The mature woman in her, the conscience which talked her out of stupid things when Sakura couldn't, calmed her out of saying anything rash to the leaders of Konoha. "I accept." she said, and with a fierce determination, she looked up from the floor and straight into Tsunade's eyes. "I accept." she repeated. She then bowed to her superiors. "Thank you for this opportunity, Hokage-sama!"

"You're welcome, Ino." Tsunade replied with a half-smile. "You are dismissed. Finish your shift for today and report here tomorrow morning."

Ino nodded affirmatively and left. Kakashi shut the door behind her. "I'm surprised. We didn't get screamed at." he said.

Tsunade scoffed. "Pshh, she knows better than to scream at me!" she asserted. "Besides, it's not _her_ reaction to any of this I'm worried about," she looked at him with raised eyebrows. "They should be back any minute with our special friend."

Kakashi shook his head. He felt like an old man already. _It never ends,_ he thought to himself. 

* * *

Sakura lay with her arm draped over her eyes in her little room. As much as she hated to admit it, she was finally beginning to understand why Guy-Sensei had lain white as a ghost in that little tent, yelling over and over about how sick he was back when they'd seen Naruto on Nanakusa. The water had been especially choppy the past couple of days, and since she tried to stay away from her herbal stores, her stomach seemed to drift up and down with the waves. Finally she couldn't take it anymore and succumbed to having a small portion of ginger root and willow bark to qualm her reeling insides.

After drinking the remedies down with some water, she lay back on her bed with a sigh. She really should read one of the books she had brought, but was only in the mood to brood. She wondered if she'd hear it from Tsunade about leaving without a word or an escort. _She probably had me followed or whatever anyway_, she thought. _Or at least reported on._ It wasn't hard to spot someone with pink hair among any crowd, was it?

Sakura watched the dust dance in the light from her small window and put her palms above her face. _"Your hands… they don't have blood on them, Sakura." _A certain masked-ninja's words tumbled through her mind. _"I can't let them be stained. I'm sorry._" He had said to her.

Stupid Kaka-sensei. What did he know? _Well, almost everything?_ She answered herself. Still, he aggravated her. She looked at her hands, seeing every line, eyeing every callus that had formed over the years of hard training and missions. She thought of all the chakra that had passed through them, all the soap that had washed the dirt and scrapes away. What was it like for Naruto and Sasuke, to be missing one? Not that Naruto was missing a hand anymore. However… It was something she pondered.

It hadn't been a long journey so far, but she was getting impatient. This assignment was a chance to start over and push through all the limits she had ever been restricted with, whether from being weak, being a woman, or being in the shadow of Naruto and Sasuke, (or even Tsunade-sama.)

Then a thought struck her right when a particularly bad wave smacked against the side of the junk her room was on. _Didn't that man say they might not even go to the Land of Rapids in a couple weeks?_ If that was the case, how was she going to communicate with people from Konoha, or the other nations? Her analytical mind began to tick. Besides skirmishes, viruses, and the general antagonism of the Benisu, she was going to have to worry about keeping in contact with _anyone_?

Sakura reached for her bag to find some stationary and whatever she could to write with before it was practically slung out of her hand by the unsteady ocean. She tried her best to write a note to Tsunade, although her handwriting ended up looking more like she had written it in the midst of her battle with the puppet master or that it had come from Konohamaru on after inhaling ten pounds of sugar than from her. Across the page, she told Tsunade how she had gotten to the port fine and was going to mail the letter the second she got off the ship. She told her all about the inspections she'd had to go through and how she was worried that she wouldn't even be able to send word of anything once she got to the island because of what the ship attendant had said. And lastly she asked what she could do if the equipment they had was too rudimentary to work with. Would Tsunade send more? Would the other nations?

Finishing the letter gave her an idea. Since she had no idea when she'd see or talk with anybody for a while, she decided to write letters to everyone. There was plenty of time to kill on this rickety vessel before she got to Benisu, and plenty of things to say to the ones she'd left behind. 

* * *

Sasuke had chosen to walk for much of the way. Any other route of transportation, besides jumping through the trees, left him owing people around him for their services, which was a feeling he couldn't quite stand anymore. Thanks to the Samurai in the Land of Iron, he had learned a considerable amount of control of his sword with his right hand, and he had paid for it through labour made harder without the use of his _left_ hand. He wasn't afraid of much, he never had been. But he was certainly annoyed and inconvenienced at everything he wasn't afraid of, and he wasn't about to let rogue ninja or any other hooligans take advantage of his condition.

As dawn came over the sky, he focused his senses to make sure he was alone with the forest creatures. Observing the world around him also kept him from getting lost in his thoughts. He heard the songbirds calling for their lovers and the wind whistling through the trees. The pines had stayed majestically green throughout the winter, but the other trees were just starting to sprout their tiny neon leaves and colourful blossoms. Scenes like this always reminded him he had yet to master sage mode, but he had better damn well try to soon. It wasn't like Jyuugo was going to show up whenever he needed to harness all the nature energy he had yet to fully understand. And it was still something the dobe had over him.

It took a few miles to walk through the forest on the weary dirt path. After a couple hours he came upon the log cabin he had passed on his trek up to the mountains in the early autumn, and its inhabitant was outside just like last time, tending to his sprouting plants in the outside garden. "Ohayo, wanderer!" The man greeted him. Sasuke noticed his dark brown beard had gotten longer, making his glasses look smaller on his face.

"Say, weren't you the one who came by here a few months ago?" he asked. "Aa." Sasuke replied affirmatively. "You came back down at just the right time, everything's a bloomin'! 'Specially the cherry trees. Keep an eye out for flash floods though. When the snow melts in the spring it all comes a-rushin' down the mountain."

"Thanks." Sasuke said. He was a nice man, but definitely one of those types to give advice that was never asked for.

"Where are you off to this time?"

"Konoha. In the Land of Fire."

"My, well you've just been all over, haven't you? What will you do there?"

Sasuke was growing tired of the small talk. And truth to be told, he really didn't know how to answer the question. "My arm. Getting a new one." He said, showing the traveler his lack of a hand. _If Tsunade hasn't changed her mind._ He grumbled in his head.

"Oh. Well good luck, traveler. Have a safe trip home." Sasuke nodded. When did he say anything about it being home? He didn't know where home was, anymore. But whatever.

He reached the pass at the bottom of the forest in the early twilight; as he turned a corner on the path, a fox looked up at him with a newly caught rodent in his clutches before scampering away. "Tch…" Sasuke scoffed. If the universe was trying to send a hint, he wouldn't take it. It was nothing more than a forest animal.

As he passed the oaks at the base of the woods, he came upon a giant cherry tree he hadn't noticed last time. It was clearly a couple hundred years old, its branches weaving around each other towards the star-filled sky, covered in blushing coral blossoms. Again he dismissed it.

But when he built himself a small shelter under another tree, and the moon came out to greet him, and the soft breeze blew the smells of flowers through the air, and an owl called out into the night, he looked over the fields past the mountains one last time before he drifted into sleep. And the breeze carried with it a torrent of petals that washed over him, playing in the moonlight until they settled like a blanket at his feet, and it left him with what would have been a smile had it been anyone else's face, because it wasn't like Sasuke smiled or anything. Just wasn't his thing.

The man's words echoed in him as he let go of his consciousness. _Have a safe trip home._ Yeah, okay gramps. _Just no more nightmares._ The world was fading away.

"_Where are you off to this time?"_

"_Konoha. In the Land of Fire."_

"_Have a safe trip home."_

…Home.

* * *

**End of Chapter Two**

* * *

**A/N:** Whew! So much exposition. Hope you're still with me, folks. I've gotta take a minute to set things up the way I want them to be. I guess the cherry blossom thing is kind of literal and cliché but I really wanted to write it in so there it is. I would love a review, pretty please!


	3. Onward

**.**

* * *

_Onward_

* * *

And the rain poured down.

Sakura shivered as a cold gust of air rushed through her, bringing with it droplets that felt like ice on her skin. She had heard the rain pounding against the ship for almost a day now, and was surprised it was actually harsher outside than it had sounded inside. It had been an even greater distraction than the rocky waters which had made her handwriting careen across the page and her stomach reel from side to side throughout the trip. When she had felt the vessel make shaky contact with the dock and heard the attendants come knocking on the cabin doors, couldn't have been more anxious to leave. Her hands had been sore from writing, and her mind had been sore from overthinking.

Now she stood on the top deck, waiting to disembark. Other passengers around her were having a considerable amount of trouble standing still whilst the ship attempted to lay anchor. The winds were pulling it to and fro, and the little wooden rope bridge that they had walked up before was blowing clean off the dock. Several sailors were trying to grab hold of it and tie it into place below. Sakura tightened her grip on the railing, and focused her chakra to her feet. No matter how many times she did this, it always reminded her of the time, several years ago, when Kaka-sensei had her, Naruto, and Sasuke climb trees. It was the first time she had ever bested them at something, and sometimes it felt like it would be the last.

In the distance, lighting flashed among the clouds still at sea. The stars were nowhere to be found on a night like this. When a clap of thunder bellowed a few seconds later, a little boy by Sakura's feet screamed and started to cry, grabbing Sakura's legs. She comforted him with a warm hand, and led him to a small brunette woman a few feet away, calling a name she couldn't hear above the roar of ocean and storm. The woman, holding her hat with one hand and her son with the other, thanked Sakura as another bolt of lightning drew her son closer to her. For one instant, her face was lit up, and Sakura could have sworn she saw something like terror in her eyes, something that had nothing to do with the weather. But as the ship attendants called out to the passengers, telling them to get in line to leave the ship, and the rain pelted against the crowd, and the waves rocked the boat again towards the side, knocking passengers over, the thought vanished from her mind along with the young mother.

Sakura got in line with the other travelers, although she tried to stay near the railing as long as she could. _Concentrate_, she thought. It worked for the most part, until as she was shuffled around towards the stairs which led to the door she had walked through a week ago, something caught her eye. Taking one last look from the deck, she studied the people below waiting on the dock. There were a few that looked like families of those she had journeyed with - people with umbrellas, hiding under any structure they could to escape the rain. There were sailors and ship attendants and official –looking men with what would have been almost glamourous attire had they not been soaked to the bone. And against a pole, with his arms crossed, stood a man dressed like her – black pants, black shirt, and the same green vest she had become accustomed to wearing on and off over the past year. He was alone, and she couldn't tell whether that was by choice or not. Maybe there was too much going on to guess, but it seemed as if those around him were… avoiding him?_ No, that can't be right_. She surmised. He was just a solitary man, perhaps. But when another flash of lightning lit up the area and made his headband glint slightly, exposing the shinobi symbol engraved upon it, she at least came to understand who he was. He had a slight smile and wisps of a goatee on his chin, but she couldn't tell more than that about him in the dark from afar.

There was a bottleneck effect as the passengers were pushed through the tiny corridor to the doorway to the equally tiny bridge. Some of the people had started complaining, especially about how cold and wet they were, as the shipmates circled around trying to organise the madness and settle everyone down. _The first thing I'm doing when I get off this ship is buying a warm jacket_, Sakura decided. It was still early spring, but she didn't see the point in waiting for it to warm up and didn't know how long that would take on this island. _Or at least something with a higher collar. And something for the rain. _She added. _(_Who knew how long these storms would last, either.)

She couldn't quite place it, but there was a tension in the air that weighed down on everyone around her. Nobody looked dangerous, or out of place, or even suspicious, but something just wasn't quite right, here. Sakura straightened her vest and double-checked to be sure she had everything, not that she was sure she could get back into her room if she had left something, anyway. As she was shuffled closer to the front of the line, she saw the attendant from a few days earlier off by the beginning of the other hallway. She turned and in a split-second decision told the person behind her, "Um, you can get in front of me," and left to find him. _Screw the line._ She told herself.

As she reached him she began to see just how flustered he was, trying to control the people - milling about, always headed in the wrong direction, a bunch of them asking him questions all at once or just whining about everything, close to falling over every time the ship moved… The wrinkles around his eyes were still kind, and in getting closer she could see dimples hiding in his cheeks, but those things were slowly being buried by frustration bordering on defeat. If his hands were free from pointing the passengers in different directions she thought they might be tearing his short salt-and-pepper hair out.

Other attendants were coming from around the corner to manage the crowd, and it had started to thin when she grabbed his attention. "Excuse me… sir…" she started, realising she didn't know his name. "Thank you, for earlier – "

"Well hello, my little thrift!" He jumped in, focusing all attention on her so she felt like she was the only one in the room. _But what did he just call me?_ She wondered. "We made it. And you only look slightly green. Don't you have an overcoat?"

"Uh, no. But I'll be fine," she said. "I just wondered… can I ask something of you?"

"I suppose. You've got to be getting off soon though."

"I know, it's just – You said you might not be coming back here and…" she trailed off when she noticed his mood change. "Well, _do_ you think you'll come back?"

The man leaned down closer to her so as to lower his voice. "Our final destination is the Land of Water, so we have a bit to go. But after that, there's talk we're already changing course. We might not even stop here on the way back, Miss."

"Oh." Sakura was disheartened at this. _I guess I really will be alone…_ she thought. "I have these letters, and I wanted to post them right away but I'm not even sure of the communication in this country, should I-"

The man put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You could try to mail them here, but I don't know how successfully they'll get to where you want them to go. If you want, I can take them for you and send them when we get to the Land of Water."

She was taken aback by how gentle and nice he was. "Really? Oh, thank you, sir. I don't mean to impose or anything…" Normally she'd be suspicious of someone with such a gracious offer, but there was no reason for him to lie, and she couldn't see any evil in him. He smiled. "It's no problem. Actually, there's a post box built-in a little bit behind you. You can drop them in there."

Sakura turned around and, through a throng of people, eventually spotted what looked like a square cut out in the wall under a sign that read, "POST". _Oh. Duh_.

She turned back to the man. "Thank you. When do you reach the Land of Water?"

"A few days. Though maybe more if this weather keeps up."

"Alright." Sakura reached out to shake his hand. "Thanks again. And good luck on the rest of the passage… what was your name again?"

The man gave a slight squeeze to the hand that lay on her shoulder. "You can call me Kishiti," he said with a wink. "And a word of advice – you should make red your new favourite colour. It's called Benisu for a reason."

Sakura didn't know how to respond to that one. "Oh…kay. Much obliged, Kishiti."

She mulled over his words as she walked towards the post box carved into the wall. _I should have seen this before_. She thought. But then, she really didn't come out of her room for almost the entire week, being far too preoccupied trying to keep what little she ate down. She reached into her pack and found the letters, neatly pressed to hide their chaotic insides. As she reached the box, her steps slowed. She had poured her heart out in some of these letters, as if she would never see these people again, and it wasn't too late to turn back now. Maybe nobody needed to hear the things she wanted to say.

Her hands froze midair, holding the letters near the open slot. _What do I really want?_ She wondered. _To be honest or reserved?_ Was the price to pay for telling the truth less than it was to be buried under secrets and regret?

A clap of thunder jolted her out of her thoughts. An attendant called to the people who were left: "Attention passengers! We have only five minutes left on this dock. This is your last chance to disembark!"

Sakura bit her lip. _JUST DO IT YOU BIG BABY!_ Inner Sakura chided. _Fine!_

And the letters went down the chute.

Seconds later she was heralded along with the last of the others to the doorway with to the little wooden bridge. When she reached its edge she saw something she hadn't seen through the crowd earlier: a stewardess at the door was shining a small light into everyone's eyes before they were allowed to exit. Afterwards, another man briefly examined her right hand. Neither of these attendants said a word to her, which added to her discomfort. Nevertheless, she was allowed out to walk down the bridge with relative ease.

Abruptly, the wind crashed a rather large wave against the side of the ship and rocked her off of her feet for a moment, causing her to grip the handrails. As she straightened herself and continued walking, she heard behind her, "Sir, we're going to ask you to step aside," from the stewardess. Sakura looked back to see the male attendant shaking his head at the stewardess, who paid him no mind. When a third attendant emerged from behind her with a vial of sick, black coloured liquid, Sakura turned back around to face the dock. "I need to get off here, I passed inspection when I got on board!" The man protested behind her. The rain drowned out the stewardess' response.

Sakura had a feeling she didn't want to hear it, anyway.

After eons of unsteady walking in the gusty storm, she reached the dock. She was already soaking when the man with the green vest appeared before her and, as if to cement her earlier suspicions, people seemed to back away from them. The sailors who had been helping people leave the bridge gave her extra space as she walked towards him and a few looked at each other with questioning glances. _I wasn't even the one to be asked to stay back, and I'm still scary for some reason…_ she thought.

"You're Miss Haruno, I presume." The man said. "Hai." She replied, bowing slightly. It barely concealed her shivering. "Should've brought a coat." He said. "I probably should've brought a lot of things, like a nicer looking outfit or perfume than whatever's making everyone give us such a wide berth."

He smirked. "Perceptive, aren't you. I'm Urushi." He held out a hand. She took it hesitantly, but with a firm grip. "Sakura. But you already knew that."

Lightning _cracked_ through the air, making her jump slightly. The wind picked up again, and she couldn't hide her tremours anymore; her teeth chattered. It was _bitterly_ cold. When the thunder boomed a second later, Urushi got closer to her ears and raised his voice. "The Inn we're going too isn't too far from here, but it will take us a minute in this mess. You going to be alright?"

"Yes, it's better if we keep moving!" She hoped he could hear her.

"Okay! We can't go too fast lest we slip in the mud, and if we need to keep relatively low profile so no jumping. Just walk as briskly as you can for a bit."

Sakura furrowed her brow. Was it really that bad to restrict their movements so much?

Before she knew what had hit her, Sakura reeled over and almost hit her head on the ground. Her hands flew out instinctively to stop her fall as the world tilted over, and her knees buckled. Urushi grabbed her shoulders and straightened her up before she could ask for help. "You must've had a rough trip at sea. Your balance might be off for a day or two – another reason we can't do anything but walk." He said. In a bold move, he put an arm around her to lead her to the end of the dock. For some reason, like a silly schoolgirl, she looked around at the others standing nearby, as if she cared what they thought or needed their permission. _Why do I care what they'll think?_ She started to question, and she was about to reach her arm up to his to protest, another blast of lightning lit up the night - and finally she saw that of the few on the dock who had braved the storm, they were the only ones without masks covering their faces or rags covering their mouths. Every single one of the bystanders in their vicinity, save for the sailors, struggled to hold an umbrella or some kind of covering for the rain with one hand and protection against something _other_ than rain with the other. It hit her, then, sinking in like melting ice: _This place isn't safe…_

_And neither am I._

* * *

The storm died down considerably while they walked, although a steady rain continued to fall. Once past the dock, the people virtually disappeared. At first Sakura thought it was just because of the weather, but with every passing block she started to feel like they were in something closer to a ghost town than a coastal city.

"Do you have any other clothes?" Urushi interrupted her thoughts.

"What? How do you mean?" she queried.

"I mean, anything other than something that makes it so obvious that you're a ninja? Something you can wear without your flack jacket?"

Sakura thought for a second. "Well, sort of. I have a red shirt with my clan's symbol on it. And some black shorts. I usually wear an apron with a pack attached to it and medical tape but I suppose I could skip those if I really needed to…"

"Red shirt. Good. Tomorrow you definitely want to wear that and yeah, skip the weapons packs, tape, and headband. You can already see how we stick out like a sore thumb here – it's just easier to try and blend in at first."

"Alright." she said, pursing her lips in confusion. She had spent so much of her life trying to be a better ninja, and now she was trying to hide it.

"I have a strange question." She said to break up the silence. "On the ship, this man… he called me a thrift? What is that?"

Urushi chuckled as he looked at her. "It's the hair. You're pink like the sea thrift that grows on the rocks by the bay. It's a pretty resilient flower. Florists like to dry it because it keeps its colour long after death."

"Oh."

"Did you tell him your name, or did he just make the flower connection on his own?"

"I guess he just figured it, because I didn't. I got the impression I can't… I shouldn't trust anyone, but he seemed nice. He told me something else though. About the Benisu liking the colour red."

"Yup, you'll see more of that when you actually see more people. They're all hiding now, though." He said. "Is that it?" she replied. "This town seems like it's almost…" she eyed a shop window coated in dust. Next to it was a pot, knocked over, which held a single broken cane inside. "Deserted." she finished.

"It's… going through a tough time, like the rest of the country." he said as they passed the shop.

"Seems like i-" Sakura tripped over something but grabbed on to a pillar outside of another store. "You alright? Still dizzy?" Urushi asked.

"Yeah, it's just this thing." Sakura picked up what she had tripped on. It was a yellow banner with words on it she didn't recognise. As the droplets bounced off the banner she saw that the water running off her right hand was grey. Surprised, she looked at the pillar she had just grabbed – it was charred black.

"Urushi…" She looked around. This wasn't the only thing strewn across the road. Banners, flowers, pots, and all sorts of other items adorned the empty street. The char marks weren't just on the store pillar she had touched. "What happened here?"

Urushi sighed. "It was supposed to be their Panchami festival. It's a welcome-spring thing, to celebrate the Goddess of learning and wisdom and such. But it went horribly wrong. This block is the worst of it I've seen."

"There was a fire?"

"Yeah. They're still fighting about who set it."

"That's unfortunate."

"Quite. I'll tell you more about that tomorrow, since it's too much to get into now. Besides, we're almost here."

"Great. It's so cold."

"Should've brought a coat."

Sakura clenched her fists. "I got that. You said it already." Urushi gave her a wicked smirk in return. That smile looked almost like… no. She didn't want to think about that right now. Although, even after reserving herself to thinking about anything other than _him_, she managed to let the silence stretch between her and Urushi, letting the rest of their conversation get filled in by the rain, and her thoughts wander.

They reached the inn a few minutes later, drenched to the bone. She knew the next morning she wouldn't be able to recall the lady who greeted them at the front desk and gave them their keys. A wave of fatigue enveloped her as they trudged the stairs up to their rooms, and after Urushi bid her goodnight and she hung up her sopping clothes to dry on a chair, she fell into bed without hesitation. Sleep pulled her under and the chill faded away. 

* * *

_She stood before a giant gate, the rain pouring down once more. No, it did more than pour. It bubbled at her feet and rose to her ankles with an angry orange heat. A growling voice echoed in the darkness lying behind the gate. "Don't kill Naruto… You… will… regret it…"_

_Sakura's eyes searched the blackness for the source of the words. "I'm not trying to kill…" Slowly the gate opened, splashing the water back towards a growing light. She walked towards the light and felt her heart beat harder in her chest. Something was on the floor, in the water where the light was shining. She knew what it was before she reached it and yet she was taken aback all the same._

_It was Naruto, his shirt torn open, bruises on his face and arms. He lay stone cold and still in the water, barely breathing. Sakura fell to her knees and felt for his pulse, which was barely there. She knew what she had to do-_

_But she had barely any chakra, where was it?! She tried desperately to summon the ability to send it to her fingertips; to create a blade to open his chest. But no matter how she tried, there was none. So she instinctively reached for her pack to find only a kunai left in it. _This is not how you do this…_ she thought. There was no time. _

"_Do it…" the voice boomed._

_She cut as fast as she could, with as little mercy as she could, into Naruto's pale and battered body. She grit her teeth together so hard that waves of pain rushed up all the way to the top of her head, _THERE IS NO TIME NO TIME NO TIME_ she screamed to herself._

_She tried to steady her nerves as she reached into Naruto's chest cavity to grasp his heart. _Cardiopulmonary… Resuscitation… _She recited to stay focused. "Naruto I will _not _let you die!" She told him._

"_You will… regret it…" the voice came again._

"_Shut up! Shut up!" She yelled to the darkness. Tears squeezed out of the corners of her eyes. "Naruto, please stay with me…"_

_She could feel his heart barely beating in her hands. "Please... Naruto…"_

_The bubbles from before were creeping over them. If this kept up, he was definitely going to -_

* * *

"Sakura-san! _Sakura-san_!" Her eyes fluttered open as she came to; Urushi was shaking her awake. Her heart raced – Naruto, where was Naruto? Was he alright?

"Miss Haruno!" Urushi sat her up and gave her a slight smack on her cheek. "Get up we have to go! NOW!" His voice was hurried, yet low. Where did they have to go? To get Naruto?

_SLAM_. Suddenly they were thrown on the floor as the room shook. She came to her senses – _it was a dream_. Her head was spinning. "What's happening?" she groaned as Urushi helped her off the hard wood, throwing her covers which had fallen with them back on the bed.

"It's a raid. Or a riot, doesn't matter. There aren't many people –" He was interrupted by the sound of breaking glass. "Well, there are enough to do damage. They've lit fire to some buildings on the next block. They're throwing paper bombs, rocks, everything. We have to leave. You better be done with that vertigo, because we have to go _fast_."

"Uggghh." Everything was happening at the same time, and for once that wasn't just in her mind. Naruto wasn't dying, he was back at home in Konoha. The aches and pains in her legs, back, and head were real but unimportant. She could hear crashes and screaming outside, and explosions vibrated through the inn, making her quest to get dressed far more difficult than it usually was. She didn't even have time to feel embarrassed that she was in her underwear and nightshirt in front of a crass man she'd met only hours before. _Whatever. At least I'm not naked. _She thought as she rapidly threw what dry things she had together. Her pants were good enough, but the shirt… oh well. "You said red, right?" she asked Urushi, pulling her signature top out of her bag. He was tying his forehead protector on, trying to see what he could through the window without being spotted. The moon lit up his dark hair from above, and a yellow glow lit up his chin from below. Sakura prayed that glow wasn't from the blazes, but she knew that wasn't the case.

Finished dressing, she stuffed everything else into her pack. _Dreams… always these dreams…_ How they haunted her sometimes. There was no time to think about them anymore. Urushi walked over to the door, and Sakura followed. When she reached the doorway, she saw that the knob and keyhole had been broken and part of the wood ripped off. "I had to get in somehow. Didn't really think about it." Urushi told her, reading her thoughts.

They dashed down the stairs to the front desk. Sakura slammed the now useless keys on the now unoccupied desk as they ran out the door. "If you know how to fly, now's the time." Urushi said.

"I can get close enough." Sakura replied.

There wasn't a crowd outside the inn so much a mish – mash of people arguing; small groups with torches were lighting fires to anything that would burn, and a few men even seemed to be in a fistfight. Women and children were running away from the violence and slipping in the mud and the mess. Shattered windows, heavy stones, kunai, shredded paper, clothes from suitcases that had been dropped and torn open, and all other types of debris littered the walkway. Everything was utter chaos.

A drizzle fell from the sky, but it was nothing compared to the downpour from earlier. Sakura was surprised anything could catch fire after the precipitation they just had, but then, most of the inferno seemed to sprout from torches thrown on the inside of storefronts and houses in the little town. "This is horrible." She said.

"Let's go." Urushi urged as flames erupted from the front of the inn they had just left. They were in the air before Sakura could wonder whether she'd left anything behind.

"Where are we going?" She called to him from the rooftops they sailed over. "We'll go south to Aquroya; hopefully it hasn't sunk into the sea from the same shit going on here. There should be an emissary from the Land of Water there to meet us. Then we'll go inland to Himitsukawa, where the hospital negotiations are happening."

"Shouldn't we stay back to help these people?" Running away sat uneasy in her stomach. "I mean –"

She stopped as the words got caught in her throat. They had reached the buildings at the top of the hill, and when she turned to face the port, she could feel the heat on her skin. The entire dock was engulfed in flames. She could see ships hurriedly sailing away or burning with the pier. The madness slowed down enough for her to truly understand: there was no going back.

"Don't stop now!" Urushi shouted. "If we try to help we'll get caught up in it, and I'm not trying to be barbequed."

A tear rolled down Sakura's cheek, but she wiped it away and swallowed hard. Dawn was rising over the sky, turning the entire atmosphere the same colours as the inferno raging below. If she spent too much time looking back instead of leaving, she would see the fire eat up the stars, and take with it all her hopes of being joined by someone, anyone from home. So she turned to face where she was going instead of where she came, because the only way now was forward, onward into the unknown morning.

* * *

**End of Chapter Three**

* * *

**Word Count: **4632  
**Song:** Pirates of the Caribbean Soundtrack**  
Disclaimer:** Naruto and its characters are copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. The anime is produced by Viz Media and Studio Pierrot / Aniplex. I am merely borrowing the characters for my and your amusement, like everyone else on ffnet. I also don't own Fullmetal Alchemist, either series – those are owned by Hiromu Awakawa, Seiji Mizushima, Bones, Studio Aniplex and a bunch of other people I don't feel like looking up right now.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hello! Sorry it took me so long to update this. After finals the Holidays just killed me. I work at a shipping warehouse so we were clobbered with business; I was working 13 hour days and even on weekends, and as such had no time for anything at all. I'm going to try and update this either weekly or every other week as much as I can since there's so much to get through. My next update after this will probably be _next_ weekend, around the 9-11. Also, since I really only listen to one or two songs when I'm writing, per chapter anyway, I thought I'd include that/those song(s) in the author's notes. I've been doing a lot of research for this too, to make it fit in the Naruto world. The following are a few notes on things in this chapter:

**Kishiti**_**: **_The name is short for Kshitigarbha, who is a God in Indian, Chinese, and Japanese culture. He is a Bodhisvatta (or "Buddha to be") who looks after travelers, and the 6 paths or destinies that souls can take after being judged. Since Hindu and Buddhist culture and mythology is so heavily ingrained in Naruto, I will be doing the same with this story. Most of this will be explained throughout but I wanted to make note of it now.

**Urushi:** So this is not an original character – he's actually the guy who was Kabuto's "brother" at the Konoha Orphanage. We saw him in adult form for about a minute in the show although I can't remember the episode. Once again, I'll try to not include too many OCs. There's already a bajillion characters in Naruto for me to use haha.

**Aquroya: **Aquroya is a city in the **first** Fullmetal Alchemist anime. It was only in the anime and based loosely off of the city of Venice. I really like the name and of course, since the Benisu are referred to as being based off of the Merchant of Venice, I wanted to use it. Once again I don't own it and please don't sue me!

**The Dream:** Okay. I know it has some things Sakura wasn't there for. But the dreams are important and they're there for a reason, I promise. It will all make sense eventually!

Yeesh. What a spiel. For those of you still with me, I'm very honoured and grateful. Reviews are always appreciated and I'll do my best to respond to them. Have a happy new year!


	4. Loyalty

**.**

* * *

**VISCOSITY**

* * *

**Word Count: **3,022**  
****Song:** "Broken Pieces" by Apocalyptica feat. Lacey Mosley / Naruto OST  
**Disclaimer:** Naruto and its characters are copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. The anime is produced by Viz Media and Studio Pierrot / Aniplex. I am merely borrowing the characters for my and your amusement, like everyone else on ffnet.

**Author's Note:** _SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES! _Don't say I didn't warn you. I'm only putting this in the first few chapters, along with the disclaimer.

* * *

_Loyalty_

* * *

"I just don't know what to do with you." Tsunade said, her impatient fingers drumming against the desk. Billowing clouds had trailed in to blanket the windows behind her, providing a backdrop to everything swarming around in her aura.

"Neither do I." said Kakashi, arms crossed, leaning against the wall.

Tsunade rested her head in her other, non-drumming hand. "I am grateful to you. I am. _We_ are. But your decisions… the actions you have taken after the war, and the ones beforehand… you've put us in between a rock and a hard place, Karin."

The red-headed kunoichi looked at the floor, careful to not say anything at all. To be honest, a fully healthy Tsunade with her blindingly bright, yellow-white chakra was something hard for her to look at, and also, something for her to revere. This wasn't the half-dead granny she had rescued with Orochimaru. This was a _sannin_. And rightfully so.

Kakashi's chakra was quieter, blue-green, and more reserved. But she could feel his power all the same. And his sorrow, it rested somewhere in his chakra's darkest parts, from the throat into his chest. It emanated outwards on his body, like lightning strikes against a midnight sky. Controlled, but ever-present, like fog banished to a lonely mountain peak. And as she sat in her chair, feeling the two ANBU who had escorted her earlier standing by the outside of the doorway, she wondered just how the sixth Hokage had gotten this way.

"We are indebted to you for saving us, my other Kage and I. However, there seems to be a common sentiment between us that perhaps that only makes up for you attacking our summit before the war began. And the other things you have done…" Tsunade shook her head. She had heard all she needed to hear about the summit from Mei Terumi among others, and wasn't about to let it slide, despite her words.

Karin swallowed hard and looked up at the Hokage. She had tried everything to get out of this place she didn't belong in since the war was over and Sasuke had left. Her tactics had, so far, all failed. From feigning insanity over the absent Sasuke to sneaking past the guards to the village in the middle of the night, she'd been brought back every time. Always under surveillance. Always being followed. Always in chakra restraints.

And for what? Because she wanted to roam free like the wind, forever in search of recognition from a man who'd _chosen_ her to be a part of his team from the beginning? _He didn't choose you when he left_… A voice in her head always reminded her. What did that matter, anyway?

Kakashi interrupted her from her turbulent thoughts. "The last time you left, or tried to, rather, the resulting skirmish nearly destroyed a shop on the outside of town. The shopkeeper was thrown from his bed onto the street and suffered several broken bones. And let's not even get into the innocent bystanders that had debris pummeled into their faces, _lucky_ not to be stabbed clean through by any of it."

Karin glanced at Kakashi through her bangs, without turning her head. She had hoped that his affection for Sasuke would be somehow to her benefit when he came into power, since she had been his ally for so long. But Tsunade was nearly out of the office and she still hadn't seen any hope of him overlooking her actions.

"Karin." The sixth Hokage started. "You're volatile. Unpredictable. And obsessive, to a fault."

"If I'm so terrible, why don't you just let me _go?" _ Karin sneered. It made sense to _her._

Tsunade scoffed. "We've tried that too, remember? You're like a tornado. No matter where you go, others get swept up in your path of destruction. And don't feed me that crap about 'finding Sasuke.' No one knows where he is, and he wants it that way."

"Besides, when he does come back – and he _will_ – he will come back _here_. You're impatience is only to your detriment in that sense." Kakashi added.

Karin gritted her teeth. What did they know, anyway? What benefit did they receive from keeping her caged in Konoha? The only thing _she_ got from it was a feeling of imprisonment. Their chakra was warm and inviting… their forgiveness towards her, not so much.

"Let. Me. Go." She said. "I want to go."

"No!" Tsunade countered vehemently. "No. You need to become a functioning member of society in some way or another, Karin. If you go you'll just be another rogue ninja. And no nation has _bothered_to support you or lift restrictions on you except for the Land of Fire. Not even your home, the Land of Grass, has anything to offer for you. You won't become a medical ninja and help in the hospital. You won't become a shinobi and help guard prisons or protect the city. You won't assist in reconstruction of neighboring villages. And unlike my fellow sannin, I refuse to have you 'experimented' on to modify or alter those wounded from the war. So there's really only one thing left for us to do."

Karin looked back down at the floor. She was tired of trying, anymore. Tired of fighting against an unstoppable wave which pulled her under again and again.

"Orochimaru-sama-" she started.

"Is on his own path to redemption." Kakashi interjected. "He doesn't have a facility for you to run anymore, and your requests to be under his tutelage will be denied over and over, Karin. We can't trust the two of you together, just yet. And since you haven't noticed, or admitted it to yourself, I'll remind you that he hasn't assisted you in your numerous escape attempts."

The fiery red-head gathered her hands into fists. She could feel the blood pulsating in her veins, like watching water come to a boil in a pot. She wanted to cry and laugh and scream at the same time. "What, then? Whadd'ya want me to do then?" She mumbled through strained teeth.

"We want you to learn." Tsunade answered, finalizing her words with a final finger-tap.

Karin looked up at her through questioning crimson eyes. What the hell did that mean?

"Karin, do you even know about your history? Where you're from?"

"I'm from the Land of Grass. My village was destroyed when I was little, but I hid-"

"We know that story." Kakashi said. "I mean, where your family's from?"

"… My family is dead. They all died in the attack."

"No. I'm referring to before they were in the Land of Grass."

Karin's form straightened from its slumped position in her chair. "Before?" She had never known much about her family, and had little memory of them together. A hug here, a smile there. The only discernable piece she had of her past, before Orochimaru, and besides the bite marks that littered her body, was the time her mother… no. It stung to think about. She wasn't about to cry in front of the Hokage, either one.

"Your clan, the Uzumaki clan, came from the Land of Whirlpools. It's an island southeast of the Land of Fire. They were scattered across the world when their homeland was attacked and destroyed a few decades ago. Your family was probably one that escaped with little more than their lives, years ago, before you were born, and ended up in the Land of Grass. Misfortune seemed to follow you there, though; I suppose." Kakashi said.

Something in that statement resonated in the back of her mind. Perhaps Orochimaru had said something of the sort, when he first rescued her? She couldn't remember.

"Karin. We're sending you on an assignment. So you get your wish, in a left-handed sort of way."

Karin raised an eyebrow.

"You can leave Konoha." Her heart leapt in her chest. "But on our conditions: You will be sent to the Land of Whirlpools, or what's left of it, and report back to us." Tsunade continued. "We need to understand the Uzumaki, study their sealing jutsus… learn what lead them to destruction. And we'd like you to understand yourself, where you came from, and train in your own techniques. You still haven't been able to produce adamantine chains since the war, have you?"

Karin shook her head. How was she supposed to do that, when she had almost done it by accident over a year ago? "No. I don't know how."

"That's probably good for us considering what you've done up until now. And I'm sure at this point, you're sick of chains anyway." Kakashi said.

She stared at her hands and feet, both pairs in shackles lined with an angry red chakra thread. They tightened whenever she started to lose control of her emotions and stopped her from almost every escape attempt. The only time she had broken free of them was when she concealed all her chakra, but then, losing the ability to sense those around her, was captured soon after. Her life had become the unending circle which adorned the backs of the Konoha shinobi, and she felt like an unwanted spider that had been swept into the sink to forever circle the drain. She could feel them stiffen on her even on her ANBU-escorted walk to the Hokage's office, although it confused her seeing as how she thought she was handling herself quite well.

"Will I get them off?" She asked.

"That depends on how you handle yourself. And how you help us." Kakashi answered.

"You need to do something that doesn't perpetuate your obsession with Uchiha Sasuke _or_ hurt everyone around you, Karin. You need to calm down. And learn where your loyalties lie." Tsunade added.

_Tsch…_ Karin thought. That was some thought from someone who lost her cool all the damn time.

"What if…" she trailed off. Karin could feel her chakra intensifying on its own, causing the shackles to tighten more. _I'm not doing anything!_ She thought angrily. But someone else… someone else was. Someone warm and bright was walking towards the door to the Hokage's office –

"Tsunade-no-baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-chan!" He said, slamming the door open with a flourish.

It was him. Naruto. With his smiling chakra… like a hug from the sun. Karin could feel her heart hasten in its beating ever so slightly. As he walked in her direction, she could feel her chakra vibrate, as a steady humming was flowing through her body. Like tiny wings fluttering throughout her veins.

"Why did you have to call me in? I hope this is fast-ttebayo. I was going to go on a date with Hinata-chan…" he stopped when he saw the auburn ninja in chains across from Tsunade. _That girl…_ Something about her chakra gave him a strange feeling, like he had known her for years although he couldn't recall her name.

"You're _late_, Naruto." Tsunade said, ignoring his jovial exultations. She looked at the blonde, with his head now cocked to one side, squinting at Karin as if she was a book Iruka had assigned him to read. Karin, on the other hand, had loosened and relaxed in her posture, and was staring at Naruto almost in… awe. _Well this sure is interesting…_ she thought to herself.

"Naruto." Kakashi said, snapping him out of his pondering. "Take a seat."

"What's this aboutdattebayo…" he muttered, pulling another chair from the wall and sitting next to Karin. He looked at the two Hokage for answers hidden in their faces, but Kakashi never showed much of his face behind his mask, and Tsunade wore her usual half-smile, her head still tilted in her hand.

"Do you feel it?" the Godaime asked.

"What?" Naruto queried back.

"You two. What do you feel, next to each other?"

"Well…" Naruto began. He didn't know how to describe it.

"My chains are tightening." Karin remarked in a forlorn way. "But I'm not… angry. I feel…"

"Funny." Naruto finished for her.

"Yeah. Funny." she said. There were better words, but they escaped her, now.

"Naruto. Karin is an Uzumaki, like you." Kakashi said.

Naruto lit up like a shooting star. "Ahhh, really? I thought Nagato… well. I should have known. You have that red hair, like my mother…" he trailed off, scratching the back of his head, an awkward smile on his face.

Karin was having trouble inhaling, from how breathtaking his chakra was. So she said nothing.

"Those of similar chakra natures will feel a resonance when they are near. That should explain some of what you're experiencing now." said Kakashi. "But let's get down to business. We have a lot to discuss."

The Uzumaki ninja looked from each other, to Kakashi, to Tsunade when she cleared her throat. "You missed a bit, Naruto."

"Well… I was-" he started to blush. He was getting to be worse than Kakashi in his punctuality, being so distracted. "It doesn't matter. Let's begin." Tsunade said, pulling a few scrolls from her desk. "I need you to pay attention to every word."

Naruto pouted. Karin could see that, like her, he didn't know how to sit still for too long. "Oh and, don't forget, both of you. I'm an Uzumaki, too." the Godaime added. Naruto gulped.

What had he gotten himself into, this time?

* * *

The first night they camped, Sakura was almost, _almost_ too tired to dream. They had traveled all day, from the crack of dawn into the whispers of dusk, until Sakura could take no more. She guessed she had lost about five pounds on her voyage there, and jumping through the trees for an entire day after barely eating on a rocky vessel for a week had taken its toll on her body. She hurt everywhere, from her aching head to her sore feet, and only longed to sleep without interruption. But every night they came, these dreams…

They haunted her, with blood and death and visions loved ones she couldn't save.

They taunted her, with warmth and life and the feeling of Sasuke's hands on her body while his lips tasted hers.

So while she and Urushi set up small tents under trees that had just started to grow leaves, grateful for the absence of rain, she prayed for rest. And after they fashioned the closest things they could to bedrolls, and he had bid her goodnight, she mixed some dried chamomile with a few drops of valerian extract in her water canteen and drank it down, ever hopeful to wake without having dreamt in the morning.

Instead, she sank into her consciousness, falling deeper and deeper into the void where all the thoughts she pushed away during the daytime came to hide. 

* * *

_She floated, mid-air, above the dock, overlooking the sea. It was nighttime, and pouring, but she could see the whitecaps in the distance, the waves writhing against one another before crashing into each other, and then into black. The wind carried raindrops to her skin in droves, although she didn't shiver from the cold._

_As she drifted down to place her feet on the dock, she saw a figure at the end of the pier, watching over the madness happening at sea. She walked closer, cautiously, watching the way his hair blew in the breeze, and how the rain bounced off his skin… He turned around, and obsidian eyes looked right through hers, unlocking the coils of chakra she had wrapped tightly around her heart. They tumbled, unwinding, without a fight, inside of her. "Sasuke-kun…" she said. He tilted his lip up ever so slightly in that smirk he seemed to reserve only for her, but did not respond. _

_He turned back around, and inhaled sharply. Suddenly he dove into the turbulent waters, and disappeared beneath the waves. "SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura screamed, and went after him. _

_She didn't get far, however, when the dock was abruptly engulfed in flames. _

_Sakura stood still, paralysed with fear. The fire surrounded her; she could feel the heat envelop her and it was almost unbearable, she spun in a circle looking for an escape route and found only… The pier Sasuke had jumped from was the only part of the dock not smoldering into ash. So she ran, with all the energy she could muster, towards where she had seen him dive off moments before, and quickly did the same._

_The splash from the dive cut into her body like a thousand kunai all at once. The water was freezing, and the wind didn't help. Her hair stuck to her head in an awkward way when she resurfaced, and she wiped it out of her eyes to keep from being further blinded in the dark. But where was Sasuke?_

_Quickly, she gathered her chakra to her hand, forming a lantern of sorts. Taking a massive breath in, she went back under, searching for him. He sank, unconscious, slowly towards the deep, arms outstretched to the sky above. Sakura hurriedly swam towards him, kicking with everything she had, until she grabbed ahold of him. _

_His hand was still warm._

_Re-emerging from the frigid waters, to even more frigid rain, she swam towards the tiny part of shore she could see which hadn't a dock to burn. It took what felt like hours, fighting against the current and the storm, with the last Uchiha in her grip. But she reached the sand, coughing up seawater and pulling Sasuke out of the chaotic ocean. As she dragged him out, the dock caught her eye, illuminating the night like a giant torch. Although this wasn't a beacon leading her home… but rather a light forcing her another way. There was no turning back from here, but this time, she wasn't alone._

"_Wake up, Sasuke-kun…" she said, holding his cheek in her hand. It was then that the realisation hit her – Sasuke had set the fire to the dock himself, with his _katon no jutsu_… and she didn't hate him for it._

_She didn't know how to explain it, but she could have sworn before the world faded away that the rain turned to cherry blossom petals, falling over them in cascades of pink and ivory._

* * *

_End of Chapter Four_

* * *

**Author's Note**: So, unlike probably most SasuSaku fans I've seen on the interwebs, I actually don't hate Karin. I think she's rather fascinating, but just doesn't belong with Sasuke. Let me know if you all feel like I do, because it'd be nice to see some fans who like Karin but just don't want to see her with Sasuke haha.

On the note of the way she categorizes her chakra, it's mainly based on the different paths of tantric chakras which lay on the, "sushuma nadi" channel in the body. This is probably the most detailed I'm going to get about that though, since the elements I'm using from that belief system aren't… well, I'm not being very strict with them, I guess. Obviously this fic is more about how chakra is described in the _Naruto_ world, but I think it's important to give recognition to how it's seen in other cultures. (We'll see more of that when we learn about the Benisu.) Also, Karin's sensor-type to me is reminiscent of 'colour-graphemic synesthesia,' a condition where someone can see different letters and numbers as being coloured or with an aura of a certain colour around them, among other things. If you've watched the movie, "The Village" by M. Knight Shyamalaladeedahlalan (or however he spells it haha,) the character Ivy has this condition.

If you're still with me, thanks for sticking around! Oh and, a little crow told me Sasuke-kun might come home in the next chapter ; ) But how will he feel when Sakura's not there? Hmmmm…

Please leave me a review! They are much appreciated!


	5. Reticence

**.**

* * *

**VISCOSITY**

* * *

**Word Count:** 4878  
**Song:** "Let Me Drown" by We As Human**  
Disclaimer:** Naruto and its characters are copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. The anime is produced by Viz Media and Studio Pierrot / Aniplex. I am merely borrowing the characters for my and your amusement, like everyone else on ffnet. The name Aquroya comes from the 2003 anime of Fullmetal Alchemist, produced by Seiji Mitzushima / Bones / Aniplex and written by Hiromu Arakawa.

**Author's Note:** _SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES! _Don't say I didn't warn you. This is the last time I'm putting this in here, along with the disclaimer. Anywho. I'm so sorry this is so late! I know I said the 27th and it's four days later. Please forgive me. My car has been eating my time and paycheck for the past few weeks, needing everything from a new headlight to a new engine. I also found out on Monday that a good family friend (like another grandmother to me) had died, and between work, class, babysitting, my car, grief, the funeral, and a cold I picked up, fan fiction kind of got put on the back burner. So very _very_ delayed I bring you chapter five, which I forced out of my mind with considerable energy. Once again, I'm sorry it took so long. Please enjoy.

* * *

_Reticence  
_

* * *

It took him two weeks to reach Konoha.

He supposed he could've come faster if he had put more effort into it, but he took it slowly, to absorb everything that he could see on the journey down. To his surprise, his travels went without incident; vacant of any attacks from rogue ninja or tumultuous weather phenomena. He was sure anyone else would have appreciated this, but it made him uneasy, as if he was only experiencing the calm before the storm.

Maybe he was just being paranoid. Loneliness did that to a person.

A surprise was in store for him when he reached the gates of his former village… Quiet. He didn't know what he had been expecting, but it was certainly more than the nothing that _did_ happen. When he crossed from the outside towards Konoha, under the giant stone gate bearing the shinobi and spiraling leaf insignia, green wooden doors opened towards him as if opening their arms to embrace him. As if welcoming him back.

He might not have noticed their friendly position if he had been distracted by whomever he had expected to meet. But since no one immediately rushed forth to greet him, the gate did instead, and he couldn't help but wonder if this was the sight that Itachi had always wished to someday see: sunlight filtering through the trees, shining down on the entrance to his favourite place, its people happily settled in their homes and shops as the first signs of spring emerged from the earth… An entrance to the place he always called, "Home."

Sasuke scowled. Thinking of Itachi still made pangs reverberate in his chest as the back of his eyes well up. So he shoved the feeling aside, as he did most feelings, and inhaled the familiar scent of freshly cut grass, buttercups, and dirt roads. He then made his way into the city, walking determinedly towards the office of the Hokage.

* * *

" 'Bout time."

That was all he said. His former sensei sat there, blatantly reading his Itcha-Itcha novel at no other place than the Hokage's desk.

…_Really?_ Sasuke thought. Kakashi would never give those damn things up, it seemed. Sometimes Sasuke wondered why he didn't just staple a copy right onto his fingers, if only to save himself some time.

"Aa." Sasuke replied. He had never been a man of many words. Neither had Kakashi, who _still_ had yet to look up from his book.

Sasuke stood in front of the doorway, his right hand resting on his satchel, behind his black cloak. He would never be one to fidget, but he was getting annoyed. Standing still was not his strong suit, and Kakashi made no move forward, conversationally or otherwise.

"It's quiet." Sasuke said, ironically, to break the silence. Finally, Kakashi raised an eyebrow to him, and strayed from his perverted novel. "That's the way I like it. As I recall, so do you. Or has that changed?"

"Nope." Sasuke replied. Kakashi went back to his book. Sasuke looked to the scene behind him, through the window below, of this little village which seemed so strange to him now. "No dobe." he finally said after a minute of stillness.

Kakashi sighed and put his book down, looking at his former pupil with an analytical gaze. "Naruto left a few days ago. He's on a mission; with a former teammate of yours, actually."

_Oh._ That explained it, Sasuke surmised. Why his return was so… dispassionate. "Sakura?" Sasuke questioned, already knowing the answer.

"No. Karin."

Okay, maybe he hadn't already known the answer, because that surprised him. For the first time in a long while, he uttered nothing because he didn't know what to say, rather than simply wanting to ignore who was talking to him.

"…"

Kakashi stood from the desk and walked over towards the raven-haired ninja with heavy, purposeful footsteps. It appeared that his protégé hadn't changed enough to ask for what he needed without another person using every ounce of effort to drag it out of him, with the demons that tied him down kicking and screaming the entire way. Then again, perhaps Sasuke's placidity as opposed to his giving of condescending orders was a step forward in and of itself. _Maybe he's only half the asshole he was before._ Kakashi hoped inwardly as he reached the Uchiha.

The copy ninja put his hands on both of Sasuke's shoulders, feeling him tense slightly. "You've done well so far. Haven't heard a word about you, which I suppose is good. At least, good for someone who's first thought is always, 'destroy.'"

Sasuke grimaced and looked to the side. He knew Kakashi was right, but was still finding it difficult to admit everything he'd done to all those around him over the years. He had found that thinking too hard about his sins only drove him deeper into the madness he was so susceptible to give in to, so he had fought these thoughts by chaffing his hand raw with physical work and forced good deeds and anything he could find to do on his travels which kept him close to 'normal.' Whatever that was supposed to be, he'd never know.

"I need…" Should he ask instead? Sasuke never asked for things. He took them. "My arm. I'm still missing a hand." He finished. It was a statement, which he supposed was a good compromise between demanding and begging.

"You came just in time. The Godaime is planning to travel soon, and no one but her is really qualified to attach a new limb. It was hard enough doing Naruto's." The Hokage dropped his hands, much to Sasuke's relief. "We've been researching Hashirama's cells for a long time, but they're just not stable yet. I'm sure you heard that from Orochimaru, though."

Sasuke swallowed. "Yeah." He'd retained a whole lot more information from the snake sannin than he liked to admit. He never mentioned it because he didn't need anyone picking his brain for what he knew, and he'd escaped before ever finding out what Konoha had determined would be Orochimaru's fate. (Not that anyone really decided his fate for him. That 'man' would never die.)

"Alright then." Kakashi walked towards the door and beckoned for Sasuke to follow. "She's moved to the smaller office before she departs. Hopefully she still feels like helping you. I guess I'll have to argue for your sake, in lieu of her apprentice."

Sasuke took this information in without a word as they walked, pondering what would happen to him if Tsunade said no.

* * *

"I'm sorry, but we can't put you under for this procedure."

Sasuke shrugged. He didn't really care, although the people around him sure seemed to feel badly about what he'd just been told. "Sasuke. You have to realise this is going to be incredibly unpleasant, especially since you haven't used hand signs in such a long time. Your chakra channels have probably weakened at points, which will disrupt the flow. Since you and Naruto basically cauterized parts your own wounds when you fought, not to mention _how well they were healed after_," Tsunade added smugly, "we'll have to reopen them. It's the only way to ensure that the cells react properly to extending your blood vessels and fusing with your skin."

"It's fine." the Uchiha replied. To his right, a tall and shapely Ino bit her lower lip. "Sasuke-kun, we're here for you. And we can give you medication after… the initial attempt."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. To his left, Shizune wore a similar look to Ino. He supposed someone else would be grateful for this supportive behaviour, but he only felt irritated. "Did the dobe cry for days after this or something? You all are freaking out. It's annoying."

"_Naruto_," Tsunade corrected him, "Actually had what we believe is a better reaction than you will have, considering his distant relation to the Senju clan. I was able to experiment with some of my own cells to fully integrate the Uzumaki and Senju DNA, making his body more accepting of the arm. You are not in the same position."

"Hn." Sasuke replied. Sitting in the small operating room was already making him restless. The beeping of the heart monitor was grating on his ears, and the smell of antiseptic cut too close to his memories of staying in the hospital before the chuunin exams so many years ago. The fluorescent lights gave a dull green glow to the women surrounding him, all three dressed in aprons and lab coats. The electrodes attached to different points on his body made him itchy, and he could feel Shizune cower from him even from a few feet away. Not to mention Ino's nervousness permeated the air in the entire place.

He never thought he'd be in a position where Tsunade was his favourite person around, yet here he was and here they were. She was the only calm, settled body in the room - harsh, and obviously still not a fan of his, but a thousand times better than her counterparts. Thinking of all of this brought about the question he'd been avoiding since he had arrived, of a certain someone who wasn't present, which of course he did not voice aloud: _Where was she?_

He'd heard _nothing_ about her since he came back. Her name was absent from everyone's lips. When walking to the hospital, he had fully prepared himself to be jumped upon and squeezed like there was no tomorrow, but that moment never came. Her scent of soap and flowers didn't linger in the air as it used to. Her pink hair didn't flash in the corner of his eyes as he went from hallway to hallway on his way to the operating room. Her laughter didn't float through the walls as the women scrubbed up for surgery. And her smile didn't greet him as he waited for Tsunade to finally start the procedure.

She was gone. Which begged him to again wonder: _Where was she?_

"This is your last chance to change your mind." Tsunade said, shifting his thoughts to the present.

"No." Sasuke firmly replied. He had made his decision. Ino looked across him at Shizune, with worried eyes. "I'm not scared, so you shouldn't be, either." He told her sternly. He had seen several people approach Ino before she came to him with Shizune in tow, and to be honest Shizune looked more like Ino's assistant now than she was Tsunade's. So if the kunoichi he used to know had become so important during his absence, why wasn't she grown up enough to be brave during his surgery? What was the point of having panicky people frantically try to attach an appendage, probably making mistakes and knocking things over in their trepidation?

_**She**__ wouldn't have been afraid. _The thought danced around his brain. _Whatever._ He ended the musing. No time for thinking about that now.

A knock on the door caused Ino and Shizune to snap their heads towards the sound. Tsunade, however, never let her eyes leave Sasuke, scrutinizing his reaction. "It seems our final surgeon has arrived," she said. "You may come in."

For an instant, tiny second Sasuke thought his questions were about to be answered – that the person coming in was the same person he was refusing himself thoughts of. However, he buried the notion when someone unexpected walked through the door.

"Hinata-chan…" Ino said. She sounded surprised at the arrival of the dark-haired girl. Tsunade scoffed at this, and said: "Did you all think I wouldn't learn from last time? I asked Hinata to manage his chakra paths during the attachment."

"Godaime. Ino-san. Shizune-san. Hello." Hinata said with a slight bow, ever the formal shinobi. Then she turned to Sasuke, who narrowed his eyes. She was wearing the same outfit as the rest of them, although it didn't look right on her. He watched as something flashed through her light lavender eyes – fear. This in no way shocked him; Hinata had always been a skittish and frightened individual. But unlike other times he had interacted with her, she didn't sheepishly look away and play with her hands. Instead, she seemed to gulp down her distress and gave him a bow similar to the one she had given the women, and said, "Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke nodded, moderately impressed by her behaviour. He had never thought much of her, but then again, she rarely bothered him, so he had never hated her as he had the rest of the ninja. She was quiet, and he liked that.

"Alright. Let's begin." Tsunade said.

* * *

_Pain._

Excruciating, mind-numbing, unbearable pain. It was all he felt. It consumed him. It darkened his vision and toppled his world from side to side, screeching through his body as if his chidori was careening through his insides. He gasped heavily for air, squeezing his eyes closed and grinding his teeth until he was sure his jaw was going to break apart.

He felt like he was 12 years old again, in the Forest Of Death, suffering from Orochimaru's bite mark as the cursed seal penetrated his chakra network. His endurance was far greater than that time, so he didn't scream as he had in the past, instead his agony escaped him in something between a hiss and a grumble. His grip on the table beside him - which was causing the wood to fracture and pieces to break off - spoke the volumes about his torment that his mouth could not.

He would not cry out. He refused to scream. But denial of his primal needs forced spit to drip through his clenched teeth, and sweat to form on his forehead. His body shook slightly, and his head bobbed back and forth with it.

"Sasuke-kun, are you-" Ino started, reaching forward to place a hand on his shoulder. He knocked it aside with his normal arm, and let his hand grip the side of the bed, clutching the sheets instead of the table he'd nearly destroyed seconds ago, and she withdrew her hand instantly. _Get away…_ he thought to everyone. _I will burn this entire place down…_

A sudden jolt went through him then, making him draw an audibly sharp breath. He was never one to whimper, but he was damn near close to it at this point. So close, he could barely discern the words being spoken between the women.

"… tenketsu on the…"

"Channel it through…"

"Should we get…"

"… not sure..."

"Hinata! How many?!"

"About…"

"Ladies, _get out of her way. _Now!"

Sasuke could barely inhale. His lungs felt like they were being weighed down by cloud of poisoned gas, and his eyes began to water even though they were shut. _Make it stop…_ he thought desperately.

Then, as if to answer his prayers, hands he'd never felt before quickly touched parts of his body and helped bring him back to consciousness. Hinata was in front of him, striking places near his hips, around his throat, shoulder… Finally, she leaned forward, and in an uncharacteristic move, steadied herself with her palm on his chest while reaching around him to tap somewhere near the end of his spine. "Breathe." she whispered, and his legs abruptly went limp. He felt what seemed like a miniature explosion in his left arm at the point where the new limb connected to the old, and slowly the pain began to dissipate as the rest of the world came into focus.

It felt like years until he came back to real life. When he did, and when he was fully able to aspirate, he took in his surroundings, trying to understand what had happened. Hinata stood before him, an inquisitive look in her byaakugan-stressed eyes, her hands now clasped together in their usual pose underneath her navel. Ino and Shizune were out of sight, although he could sense them behind him. Tsunade stood sturdily behind Hinata with her hands on her hips, her apron streaked with blood she used to fear so fervently. He had felt them slice into his arm, sending warm crimson down his arm, but the discomfort was nothing compared to what had followed with the actual attachment. As such, he was already having trouble remembering what had happened before Hashirama's cells were slammed into him.

Strange indeed, that before he had used pain to dispel powerful genjutsu, and this time it had sent him spiraling into a world of hurt which oppressed his senses so much he had almost fainted. The ways he was surprising himself these days were not at all what he wanted them to be.

"You've stopped shaking. Are you with us, young Uchiha?" the fifth Hokage asked. Sasuke bit his tongue to keep from insulting her, as she had just done a number to his pride. He looked up at her and replied, "Yes." through a still-latched jaw.

Tsunade nodded in response. "Hinata. Did it work?"

Hinata turned to the blond-haired vixen. "Hai, Tsunade-sama. All the tenketsu are active in his arm; and I actually opened a blockage in his chest. His legs are still partially weakened, though."

Tsunade smirked. "Well, it's a small sacrifice for this to work. Thank you, Hinata. Let's give him ten minutes to make sure it sticks, then you can render his legs useful again and even his channels out. Keep an eye on him for the time being. Shizune, start bandaging his arm. And Ino, help me clean up this mess." She instructed.

"Are you sure you don't want me to he-"

"No, Hinata." Tsunade cut her off. "Just maintain a visual on his chakra network. You've helped more than you know already." Hinata blushed and stood aside, letting the Godaime and her voluptuous subordinate through to tidy up the blood and broken bits of table that littered the floor, removing the patient's electrodes and monitors, and turning off the machines that surrounded him.

Sasuke didn't know what to think of the whole thing, except that there was no way the dobe hadn't shrieked his head off during his own attachment procedure. Naruto, who cried if he accidentally ate a bug, would have wailed and wailed even going through _half_ of the pain Sasuke had felt. If he had had the energy, he would have smirked at his contemplation. But as it was, he almost felt like he was going to pass out if he attempted movement of any kind, and so he stayed as still as possible until the room was clean enough for Tsunade to order Ino and Shizune out.

"Still going, Hinata?" She asked.

"Yes." the Hyuuga responded.

"Fix his legs now, please."

Hinata did as she was told, poking Sasuke in places that felt odd now that he was more cognizant to observe her doing so. His legs tingled as if awakening from losing circulation, like he had kept something heavy on them for days on end and only realised it right before they turned black and fell off. It was quite an incredible power they had, the Hyuuga clan. He had been told once that they were distant relatives of the Uchiha. Neji was dead, so maybe Hinata and her sister were the closest things to cousins he had left in the world. _Hmm._

"It's finished, Tsunade-sama." Hinata said, retreating slowly into herself. Touching Sasuke made her feel awkward, and subsequently was making her revert back to her usual shy self.

"Good. Great work today." _From one princess to another._ Sasuke rolled his eyes inwardly.

"Don't leave yet, Hinata." Tsunade said, stopping the girl from her attempted escape. "Sasuke. You need to know. I could have asked another Hyuuga to help me with this. But I didn't waste my time searching for one who wouldn't let his confusion get in the way of your treatment. I asked the one who had already forgiven you, and she did a damn good job. You could have died today."

"Tch." he said. He knew what she was getting at, and he didn't like being treated like a grade school student who needed to be told what to say and when. Gratitude didn't come easily for him; he only doled it out when it was truly justified, and even then sometimes merely to replace things he didn't know how to say.

Hinata, her byaakugan having now receded, set her gray-lavender eyes on a spatter of blood that hadn't gotten scraped off the floor. The silence sank around them like fog, until finally Sasuke relented and said: "Hinata. Thanks."

The kunoichi turned pink and looked at Tsunade. "You can go now." She said. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama. Good luck, Sasuke-k-kun." She stuttered the last of her words.

And then she was gone.

"That was adequate. I appreciate the effort." Tsunade said, crossing her arms. Sasuke looked at her, still pondering why she helped him in the first place. Her desire to stroke her own ego surely wasn't greater than her dislike for him. So what was it?

"The ANBU outside the door will escort you to your room, as you're expected a few days in recovery. Please don't leave during this time, as I know you are want to do. We need to make sure it takes."

"Hn." Sasuke acknowledged her words.

"I'll be by to check on you often; I'm assuming Kakashi will as well. Ino and Shizune will surely monitor you, as the ANBU won't permit the regular staff to just waltz on in. I'm guessing you wouldn't want that, anyway."

Sasuke shrugged his right, unaltered shoulder in response.

"We'll be able to give you pain medication in a few hours, although I doubt you'll request any. It might hit you in waves, as it did for Naruto. But it will subside eventually. Afterwards, you have a lot of business to attend to, here."

He looked up at her with his darkened obsidian eyes, questioning what she was getting at, specifically, and guessing what it was at the same time. Would he ever be able to fully atone for his sins?

"We don't have to like each other, Sasuke. But for the sake of Naruto, and Sakura, and Kakashi, and Konoha, we have to help each other. Understood?"

It was the first time she had mentioned the last member of team seven, although it still gave him no clue to her whereabouts. Neither did she explain where Naruto was, although he was sure Kakashi would mention it at some point in the next couple of days. Still. It was almost like Sakura was dead or something. He didn't _need _her, or Naruto, but it didn't sit well in him that the two people who might actually be happy to see him return weren't even there when it had happened.

"I'm leaving now." Tsunade proclaimed, forever directing his thoughts away from those he once called, 'friends.' "I'm impressed you didn't scream. You're a strong person, Sasuke." she finished, and gave him a genuine smile before opening the door. Her unexpected compliment wasn't lost on deaf ears, but Sasuke had already filled his appreciation-giving quota for the day, so he let her leave without a word.

He sighed and stood up from the bed, shaking his head to dispel his thoughts away. The path he had chosen was a long one, indeed.

* * *

"Show me on the map again."

Sakura's head was swimming. After they had camped the first night, and eaten the last of either of their food supplies, she had insisted they cover as much ground as possible to reach Aquroya. Urushi had, thankfully enough, agreed to this, as he too was impatient to get to a warm bed and a hot meal. They had both found that the money earned from their missions did no good in a forest absent of ways to spend it, and neither of them were particularly skilled hunters. Since it was early spring, there was only so much they could gather, and they relied on what little they had brought with them. But their stomachs had started to protest their dried goods just as their backs had started to protest the forest floor.

This night, Sakura prayed, was their last one hungry and in the woods before they reached Aquroya. So they sat, by a small fire they had built, discussing what they would do when they reached said destination. Urushi hadn't gotten to educate her on the history or culture of the Land of Rapids before their hurried escape from the port where she had landed. Tonight, he vowed, would at least be _some_ opportunity to teach her what he had learned, to hopefully prepare her for what she was about to see. So he had opened a few pieces of paper he carried on his person, and let her examine them as he described their contents.

"This one…" Sakura started, pointing towards the top right of one of the papers he had given her to study – a map, crudely drawn, of the archipelago on which they resided. "Well, it's a little weirdly shown. But that one, that looks kind of like an elephant's ear?" Urushi asked.

"Yes?"

"Okay. That's Xihu Island. The one next to it on the right, which looks like a standing string bean? That's Kaigara Island. And this one, on the left, with the small connecting line to the main island is-"

"Munga Island." Sakura filled in.

"Right. Good. It sounds like you're getting it." Urushi leaned back on his hands. "I dunno if we'll get to visit all of them. But you'll learn about the people from 'em, soon enough."

Sakura furrowed her brow in thought. She was good at studying and memorising facts and locations of the different islands would be no problem for her. The problem arose when visions of the chaotic fire they had narrowing escaped slithered in, leaving her with more questions about what she had seen than she thought Urushi could answer. Nevertheless, he seemed to understand at least some of the animosity these people had, so she asked away, hoping to figure out the mysteries of the Land of Rapids.

"Urushi. What happened back there? Why were people rioting and burning everything?"

Her fellow medic sighed and sat back upright, clasping his hands and balancing his arms on his knees. "Well. I don't quite know how to answer since I'm not sure myself, actually."

"That wasn't the first time there was a fire, though, right? When we walked through those streets before…" Sakura trailed off. He had to know more than what he had told her, which, due to their situation, hadn't been much of anything.

"Yeah, it's not the first time a riot has started there, that's for sure. I wasn't there during the other one, but I treated some people with burns after. They all say different things as to who started what, but basically during their spring festival, things got way out of hand. Some kid, one of the Jains, got hurt, and then people started arguing about which group did it – the Hans or the Nippons, to which people from both groups denied, and then someone had the genius idea that throwing burning torches around would solve the issue and there you go. Perfect explosive scenario."

"So…" Sakura quickly added things up in her head. The story of the child was unfortunate but irrelevant in light of how easily the sides involved had used it to justify destroying their own festival. "These people have been itching to hurt each other is what you're saying."

"Pretty much. It's not so bad in Aquroya, where there's a lot more money and people are happy with their lives. But at the Tota Port, where half the people are in slums? You better believe they use any excuse to pick a fight." It was a very broad and unsubstantiated reasoning, but she understood where he was coming from.

"Tell me everything you know." Sakura told him, like it was fact instead of a request.

"Tomorrow, Sakura-san. I'm beat. And our fire's dying down. It was hard enough finding dry wood out there the first time; I'm not about to look for more."

Sakura pouted her lips in an adorable way, standing up and brushing the dust off her pants. "Fine. We should rest I guess." she relented. _I wonder what I'll dream tonight. _ She thought.

Urushi smirked and kicked dirt onto the remaining glowing logs, killing the fire. She sure was cute, this one. He hadn't been properly warned about it. Sure, he'd heard all sorts of things during the war, and when those giant slug-things has crawled by, healing him instantly, he'd been intrigued enough to ask around after everything had ended. But he hadn't been prepared for how attractive she was, and how unable she was to hide the sparkle in her emerald eyes despite the bags underneath.

As they bid each other goodnight, he watched her climb into her 'bedroll' with a forlorn glance. She looked off into the distance too much, and he had a sense as to why. And no matter how beautiful she was, he wasn't about to pursue her.

He knew better than to chase after a woman whose heart already belonged to another.

* * *

**end of Chapter Five**

* * *

**Author's Note: **Damn, that was hard. Sorry again for the wait! I don't want to set any unrealistic standards for updating anymore and just disappoint you all. So I'll say that I'll do my best to update twice a month, or rather every couple weeks. I really do apologise for not delivering this when I originally said.

_Sasuke's Operation_: The reason Sasuke's legs went weak is because I believe his chakra gathers there, in the seven chakras beneath the mudlahara chakra. These seven chakras – Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Rasatala, Patala, and Mahatala control things like anger, lust, fear, murderous intent, confusion, and selfishness. I'm sure that in his chakra network, given these chakras and also the knowledge that the legs are the strongest in the body and used so heavily, chakra finds a most prominent home here. So Hinata cuts these off temporarily, making them almost numb, so as to force the chakra to flow from his arm to the arm made out of Hashirama's cells and therefore begin the fusing process.

Obviously I consider this to be a painful process, as I believe I've shown here. I _don't_ think Sasuke or Naruto would adapt as easily as Madara, who simply sliced off White Zetsu's arm and attached it to his own with no reaction because _he already had Hashirama's cells merging with his own at the time._ Whereas if you look at Orochimaru's experiments to try and create an individual who could master wood style, only Yamato survived. That leads me to believe that Hashirama's cells, though miraculous, can also be incredibly deadly if not handled with extreme care, and that many individuals will have adverse reactions to them.

_Xihu Island_: Pronounced, "shee-hoo" it means lagoon in Chinese.

_Kaigara Island_: This means, "seashell" in Japanese.

_Munga Island_: This means, "coral" in Hindi. I'm sure you sense a theme by now haha.

Thank you to those of you who have stuck with me so far, I can't tell you how much it means to me. Please drop me a line letting me know what you think of Viscosity!


	6. Ballast

**. **

* * *

**VISCOSITY**

* * *

**Word Count:** 6443  
**Song:** "Shameful Metaphors" by Chevelle**  
Author's Note**: I've decided to include quotes from the songs I listen to when writing these chapters because they are so intertwined with my thoughts… Technically ffnet does not allow songfics, (as I gathered from this rule of things not allowed: "Copying from a previously published work (including musical lyrics) not in the public domain") and I do not wish for this to turn into one, hence why I called them, 'quotes' instead of 'lyrics,' and only include a couple lines. The bands that own these songs are mentioned before my author's notes, as in this chapter and ones previous to it. I hope this does not offend anyone, and I do not think I have overstepped my boundaries in posting such things. They will not be intermittent throughout the story as lines from songs have been in every songfic I have ever read, which is why I do not consider these chapters to be songfics, and I will give full credit of these songs to the aforementioned lyricists / bands in every chapter. These lines will also be put in quotes, indicating that they are not mine, and I will make clear that I did not write them at both the beginning of the chapter and after the end. I've seen plenty of writers do this with famous quotes from celebrities, authors and the like, and hope that nobody has any problems with this. Now, yosh! To the chapter!

* * *

_**Ballast**_

.

"_By my admission, nothing grows…  
Just a longer list of… unsorted laws…"_

.

* * *

When he awoke, he was disoriented.

…_Where am I? _

Sunlight floated in through a window to his right, and he heard birds calling to him from the distant forests beyond it. As he slowly came to, and his surroundings came more into focus, he began to hear the hum of the fluorescent light above him and the gentle beeps of the machines to his left. The black faded from the edges of his vision and he remembered: _I'm in the hospital_.

He'd been here before. But this was different, so different from the last time.

_Itachi is dead._

He couldn't prevent the thought from permeating his mind… because no matter how hard he tried, some things he couldn't take back, and sometimes his nightmares spilled over into his waking moments against his will. He tried to grasp at the wisps of reality as he breathed in, and breathed out to clear his head.

_I am in Konoha._

His inner reason attempted to shift his thoughts to the analytical regarding his locations. It was how he always dealt with such emotions. Push them away. Find the purpose. Place the facts carefully in order before making any decisions.

_I came here. I have a new left arm._

He looked towards it to make sure the thought wasn't just imagination. Sure enough, beneath a strange combination of bandages, intravenous tubes, and electrodes, was a white, smooth new arm. Again he breathed deeply as he recalled the events from the previous day. Closing his eyes, he leaned back against his pillow, and sighed.

_It stings because they had to make slices in my arm. These cells are not mine. _

The warnings of, 'be careful' echoed in his head. Sasuke wasn't particularly careful about many things, but he wasn't stupid either. He knew when to heed a medic's orders.

_Leave it alone. Don't push too far-_

"Ah, going back to sleep already?" a voice said from the corner of the room.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open to see Kakashi in the small chair behind the window, Itcha Itcha novel in hand. How had he not seen him? "I'm not asleep." He stated, tracing his waking moments back to find where he hadn't noticed the masked ninja before. Sitting up, he realised he was still slightly groggy, the edges of his eyes still blurry and not totally registering the colours of the world around him. This, coupled with the heavy feeling in his limbs, made him understand he'd been resting too long. Considering that he usually arose multiple times from the agonizing nightmares which plagued him night after night, usually with a faster heartbeat than what he had now, he wondered just what had let him sleep so deeply this time. He couldn't even fully remember which dream he'd had, or what role he'd played in it.

Another look to his left showed him the answer lay in the butterfly needle attached to his IV.

"I told them not to drug me for the pain." He told Kakashi.

"Well, after what happened with Naruto, I doubt they would have listened to that. How do you feel?" his sensei replied.

"Tch. Like I've been drugged against my will." Although admittedly, it was the longest sleep he'd had in a single sitting for longer than he could remember…

"You have. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a dosage higher than regular for your size. To subdue you."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. He should have known better than to think his criminal status would be completely banished from the minds of the Konoha citizens upon his return. Well, at least he wasn't chained to the bed or something.

"Where's your wide red hat and cloak? I thought you were Hokage." He smirked at Kakashi, who sat dressed in his usual ninja garb consisting of a navy shirt, pants, and green vest. "Or did you get usurped by someone who doesn't read perverted novels on the job?"

The silver-haired fighter closed his book and crossed his legs, cocking his head slightly to the side at his former pupil's remark. _I guess he's trying to be funny?_ He thought to himself. _At least it's somewhat of a conversation…_ He surmised. "I didn't want to frighten you with my formal attire… What with you being in such a delicate condition, Sasuke."

"Aa." the Uchiha relented. _Touché, Kakashi._

A minute of silence passed before the Hokage spoke again, this time with a less playful nature to his words. "I did come to check on you." He admitted.

"…" was all he got in response.

"And to inform you of a few things."

That made Sasuke bring his eyebrows together in contemplation. Just what was he about to be informed of? Kakashi's tone was not one he'd heard for a long time, since being told he'd magically been pardoned before he left on his solitary adventures in the world.

"There are conditions to your return here. And to your new arm. Nothing is free, I'm afraid."

"How much?" Sasuke asked. There was no amount of money which daunted him, but somehow he knew that may not be what Kakashi was getting at.

He was right.

"It's not about money. There are other things for you to do."

The beeps on the machine increased ever so slightly, revealing Sasuke's annoyance at the Rokudaime's statements. He couldn't deny that there was much he had yet to accomplish in this world, but he was so used to roaming freely to achieve all he needed to. Now it sounded like he was being tied down by someone else's expectations, and that wasn't exactly his cup of tea.

"Did you ever wonder how we all got you pardoned in the first place?" Kakashi continued.

"…" Again, Sasuke gave him silence, accompanied by a look away from the Hokage's gaze.

"Your freedom is contingent upon a set of tasks you must complete, as set forth by the other members of Team 7 and Tsunade after your initial departure."

This made no sense to Sasuke. If he had already left, free and supposedly clear, why did they decide this after? "So you let me go only to hold me retroactively accountable for some list of rules _you_ made up?" He sneered. He still hazy from whatever drug he had been given, and it irritated him, not being able to think clearly when Kakashi was trying to explain something complicated to him. He felt slow, or maybe it was because the conversation was happening too fast? He couldn't decide.

"No, not entirely." Kakashi sighed. "You must have suspected that Naruto begged and pleaded with the other Kage to clear your name, particularly to the Raikage, who remains enraged at the simple mention of the Kage summit and your violent, _grand_ entrance to it."

The raven-haired ninja pursed his lips in response. Staying in the Land of Iron for so many months previous to this moment, he had cleared his name with the Samurai even after slaughtering so many of them. But it appeared that tumultuous incident was still lingering to bite him, a stinging reminder of his angry mistakes. "Hn." he said, permitting Kakashi to continue.

"It wasn't easy. Your attack on Killer B was brought up as well, which made everyone uneasy. After much discussion, Tsunade remained on the fence about what to do with you. On the one hand, you were imperative in the effort to dispel the Infinite Tsukuyomi. On the other, you had been a wanted criminal for so long; it was difficult for any of us to pardon your past actions. You actually have Orochimaru to thank for influencing her opinion, for he claimed that _you_ were the inspiration for his own change of behaviour, and you were also the one to revive him, allowing him to bring his subordinates to heal the Kage after their fight with Madara, as you probably already know. Do what you want to with that as I've stated it, because I have little to no interest in how you communicate with the snake Sannin provided that he follows his _own_ set of conditions under our agreement."

"I haven't seen Orochimaru since the war." Sasuke stated bluntly. The last thing he needed was the Hokage thinking they were conspiring in any way.

"That's probably a good thing." Kakashi responded with a wave of his hand. "As I said, little interest is held from me. I have to explain my part of this to you quickly, as I've already been here longer than anticipated. They really knocked you out good with your treatment."

Sasuke clenched his fists. Something about being put under, restrained and oppressed by some substance he had never wanted to have in him, didn't sit right with him. His head ached, and he hated how dazed and strange he felt.

"You don't like it. I understand. But did you really think that the hospital wouldn't be intimidated by someone as uncontrollable as you? You're gonna have to get over it, fast, because as I'm about to tell you, there are more pressing matters for you."

"Fine." Sasuke frankly and fervently responded. "Go on." He said through gritted teeth. In his travels, he had done so well – to suppress or dispel his anger. But being back here, back where everything looked and smelled and felt all too familiar… it brought back something he had forgotten he had pushed down to the bottom of his stomach. It resurfaced memories he didn't know he had retained, and made all his contemplations about Itachi and his family spark up the scorching flames of rage in him he thought he'd put out so long ago.

"The Tsuchikage, his only wish to get this discussion over with, actually gave in to Naruto's pleas faster than I had expected. I suppose his old age was really catching up to him, because he abdicated his position not long after these talks. The Mizukage was inclined to agree with whatever Tsunade was to say, so she stayed reticent throughout most of the debate. She managed to be quite vocal at Karin's discussion about your terrible actions at the summit, however. You're quite lucky she's so… _affected_ by your looks."

"Hmph." Sasuke scoffed at this.

"Gaara, of course, who has _always_ been on Naruto's side of things, and has _always_ inexplicably supported him in protecting you, offered you clemency. So that rounded the discussion back to Tsunade. Although she remained unsure of what to do with you, she did vehemently declare that ultimately, as you were a ninja from Konoha, that the Land of Fire should uphold not only whatever was decreed to be your fate, but more power in deciding what that fate was. She also proclaimed that, as I was to take over her position, I was a more prominent factor in the decision than the other advisors who attended the meeting.

"As you can imagine, they bickered back and forth about this for a short while, until the Raikage finally relented to at least letting me speak my mind. And that, my student, is where my part is played."

Eyes narrowed at being called, 'student,' Sasuke glared at the man across from him. Did they really think him to be some pestilent child? _That's _exactly _what you were._ The small voice of guilt reminded him. He decided to ignore it along with the remark from Kakashi. It was easier than admitting to the truth.

"I could see that everyone was weary from this argument. Emotions were getting too heated, and everyone was still too hurt over everything that had happened, for the war was so much bigger than any of us could ever fathom it to be. So I waited. I requested a recess until the next day, where everything would be finalized. Reluctantly, after subduing Naruto and the Raikage, they all agreed."

Sasuke continued to gaze into a space behind the window that he could not really see. His head was really starting to hurt.

The next morning, after a night of conferring with Shikamaru over what I wanted to do for you, we headed towards our second meeting. And who did we find waiting at the entrance but none other than Naruto, Temari, and Sakura."

He paused to let the words sink in. Not knowing if they had, he continued anyway.

"I should have figured Naruto would tell her everything that had happened. And being so close to Tsunade and me, she would have had access to information concerning you eventually. But he had clearly divulged every bit of the day's previous discussion to her, upsetting her greatly. She was crying - being consoled by Temari - as Naruto fought back his own tears."

"_I don't need to hear this._" Sasuke interjected, his pulse quickening once more, in time with his pounding head. "It's irrelevant –"

"_**YES, YOU DO, SASUKE.**_" Kakashi emphatically corrected him. His stern demeanor was one that surely would have scared a less confident shinobi. He glared down on his former pupil with something reminiscent of the time he had screamed at him for offering his bento box to Naruto, so long ago at the beginnings of team Seven. He had uncrossed his legs at this point, and sat with his palms on his knees, bent forward towards the man recovering in the bed across from him. "You need to hear how you've affected people, again and again, until you atone for every last one of your sins."

Sasuke glared daggers at Kakashi, finally breaking his gaze from the place beyond the window. "Hn." He said, wondering just how it was that the copy ninja always got his words of guilt through to him.

"You need to understand the people who love you despite all reason, and how they helped you even without your request. When I approached your former teammates, they _both_ beseeched me to pardon you. They weren't emotional wrecks as they have been in the past, _because of you_, but they sure were shaken up. Sakura and Naruto both clung to me, promising they'd do whatever they could to justify letting you go. Naruto even promised to be quiet during the meeting. He wasn't, of course. But you know Naruto."

"Aa." Sasuke ceded. If anyone was impossible to shut up, it was the dobe.

"Shikamaru and Temari separated them from me, to calm them down. And I assured them, with my hands on their shoulders, that all my decisions were in their best interests. Then I went in, to speak my mind.

"You could have cut the tension in the room with a knife, but thankfully the other Kage remained placid enough for me to outlay part of the plan Shikamaru and I had formed for you. And this is what I said." Kakashi cleared his throat, and took out a small piece of paper to read from. "_Surely there are aspects of Sasuke's actions which seem unforgivable._" He began.

The aforementioned rogue looked away from the speaking man once more. This didn't sound good.

"_Perhaps my relationship with him and his brother serve as a possible handicap in my rational decision-making regarding his sentence. But after consultation with an advisor of mine who has nothing _but_ a rational mind, I implore you to consider fairly what I am about to present as a suitable judgment._

"_The issue regarding Uchiha Sasuke is not simply that he has killed many. Every person in this room has taken the lives of other people in battle. Such is the life of a shinobi. In eras before this, when our nations were not united, we may argue whether these deaths are justified or simply murder. We could argue until the end of time about it, to no avail. And while we may agree that his killings are deplorable, I would like to put forth the real problem with the ninja in question today._

"_The problem with Sasuke lays not in the lives he has taken so much as in the life he leads. Sasuke has been put through trauma which none of us can truly understand. He has lost his entire family to the one person he loved most in the world, his brother, Itachi. He then succumbed to his hatred towards Itachi from his part in the Uchiha massacre, and acted on the belief he was avenging his clan by killing him. Only after this act did he discover that not only was Itachi protecting him all along, but that he partook in the massacre only from orders given by _his own_ village. This enraged him beyond our comprehension, resulting in the death of Danzo – the main proponent of the Uchiha slaughter – and the attack on the Kage summit._

_These are all truths regarding Sasuke, which we have pieced together from multiple accounts of those involved, including the hidden scrolls we found regarding the third Hokage's involvement in Itachi's orders. After these horrific, insane incidents, Sasuke seems to have had a change of heart in terms of his animosity towards Konoha. He revived Orochimaru, who in turn revived the four deceased Hokage, and lead them into battle against Obito and the ten tails._

"_In this way, he is responsible -in part- for reviving you all as well. You all remember, I'm sure, that Orochimaru was the one who ensured Tsunade being literally put back together by other members of Sasuke's old team, and therefore ensured that you all were healed as well. These are the same people who previously attacked the summit, whose fates we shall discuss later. For now, we shall consider only Sasuke - who, after emerging on the battlefield, assisted us in defeating Madara and the infinite Tsukuyomi. It may be purported that Naruto did this, and while he did, it was only with the help of Sasuke that they were able to save us all._

"I should mention that at this moment Shikamaru escorted Naruto into the meeting, who clutched at his chest with such intensity that I believed he was in considerable pain. Whether it was remnants from having his heart manually pulsed by Sakura or sheer sentimental pain from thoughts of you, I don't know, but do what you want with that information. I digress." Kakashi went back to reading.

"_I state again, these are all truths regarding Uchiha Sasuke. Now you ask for my opinion on the matter, and the man. I cannot say, even with all this information, that he should be fully pardoned. But I can say, that I witnessed with my own eyes, his apology to his teammates, and his genuine remorse for 'everything, up till now' as he stated to Sakura. Haruno Sakura, as you know, was also instrumental in our victory-_

"At this point, Naruto interrupted with proclamations of her saving his and your life, and once again tried to tell us of the amends you attempted to make. Unfortunately I had to be rather harsh with him to get on with everything, which left him in an unsettled state, but quieted him nonetheless." Kakashi turned the paper in his hands over, to continue reading.

"_Her feelings on the issue at hand, as you may all suspect, are ones of forgiveness. I might add that, even with these feelings she has always harboured, in the past she has only worked for the benefit of Konoha, even going against these notions on orders to apprehend and or kill Sasuke which she was given. We all know my account of that incident, as well as Naruto's."_

That jolted Sasuke out of his sullen reverie. He could barely remember that time, when he had first seen Kakashi, Sakura, and Naruto together, having just acquired control of Susano'o, using it to fight Kakashi even though he was going blind… Karin bleeding, dying on the ground as Sakura told him she'd do anything for him, and he in turn seeing through this and reaching his hand out, then later gripping it around her neck as she failed to thrust a kunai into him… Naruto suddenly appearing… The memories came in traces of what they once were, for his blindness and madness at the time dampened his ability to see anything clearly. But one thing was sure, that shock of Naruto snatching the kunoichi in his grasp away from him, and his millisecond of hesitation that followed, having just realised how far he was about to plunge into his violent malice before he succumbed to his curse of hatred once again… That was forever burned into his mind, like a brand mark on his conscience. If not for the side effects of overusing his sharingan… just how many of them would he have killed before he came back to reality? Merely the thought made his blood run cold in his veins, for he knew the answer was: _every last one._

And though he would never admit it, he despised himself for it.

Kakashi continued, without regard to Sasuke's guilt-ridden face. "_These kinds of actions, along with the attack on Killer B, are ones that I am referring to when I say it seems like Sasuke has done things which are unforgivable. But they cannot be so, when some of those who his actions have hurt have already forgiven him, such as Naruto and Sakura._

"_It is this fact that leads me to believe there is hope for him, having overcome his hysteria enough to not only save us but also to attain the mercy of the ones he's torn apart time and again. So what I propose is this: let Sasuke roam free, to seek redemption from the world he ignored in all his lunacy. Keep tabs on him, yes, but let him _earn_ our forgiveness. Throwing him in a cell for eternity will only draw out his animosity, and leave all chances of his return to something close to normalcy demolished in our own hatred. It will only bring more bitterness to this lonely world._

"_Conditions of this forgiveness will take more time to decipher, as we see what he does with this freedom and as we repair all that was broken in the war. I suggest a more formal system of proof to acquit him, which my advisor Shikamaru and I, perhaps with Lady Tsunade, and you if you are willing, will develop. Maybe he can even give time on his part to assisting the other nations rebuild. If you will have him._

"_For myself, my condition is this: someday, after he has achieved this atonement from the ninja world, that Team Seven be… re-forged. They must complete missions which protect the Land from whence they came._

"It was at this that people began to jump in, Sasuke. Saying, 'well that sounds like he gets what he wants,' or, 'nothing really happens to him' and the like. But when they simmered down, even Naruto, someone I didn't expect jumped in. Terumi Mei, who had lain low until then, piped up: 'The Land of Water requests eight months.'

"Some of the others were taken aback by this. 'What are you _saying?!_' The Raikage exploded at her. So she stated again, 'The Land of Water requests eight months. Of service. From Uchiha Sasuke, to serve as reparations for his crimes. Then he shall be considered, 'absolved' by our nation.'"

So this was what he was getting at: his punishment. Sasuke wanted to interrupt, to tell Kakashi that his mind felt like a sword was being thrust through it as he adjusted to his waking moments free of this abhorrent substance he had been given, which he now opposed more than anything. But instead he said nothing, finding it easier to let the words come through the air than to speak his pain aloud.

"It hung in the air for a moment, until Gaara said, 'Three.' We looked at him, and he repeated, 'Three, for the Land of Wind.'

_So many years to go…_ Sasuke thought dejectedly. He wanted to pry his head open and remove whatever was inside, because something was surely stabbing him with a savage intensity he could not explain. _Please stop talking…_ he asked Kakashi inwardly.

He did not.

"And so it was decided. The Raikage and Tsuchikage weren't sure if they even wanted you in their nations at all, although they eventually consented. Wanderer that you are, I don't think you'll mind traveling to them. Although I'm sure learning that your sentence is deeper than your own searches for restitution is unnerving."

Sasuke stared at his clenched fists for a while, contemplating what he'd just been told. The beige sensor on his left forefinger, clamped onto it to assure the world that his arm was still functioning properly, was digging into his skin, but still he clutched his hands closed. He breathed in slowly, in any effort to prevent the flood of feelings tearing through him, finally faced with the fact that his rogue ninja status was not forgotten, and the scope of all of his wrongs. Shutting his eyes to dull his sense of vision, so that maybe his sense of reason would have more place to spread out and guide him, he voiced a question.

"What of Konoha?"

"Ah?" Kakashi queried in return.

"You know what I'm asking. How long, in Konoha?" he asked again.

"As long as you want."

… The last Uchiha didn't know what to make of that. Kakashi wasn't mocking him, so why did it feel like he was being ridiculed? Was it pride? Confusion? Not understanding something, anything, made Sasuke's body go rigid with frustration. A songbird called to him from outside, beckoning him out into the world he'd only just learned was his new prison. "What… Does that mean?" At least the anger brewing inside distracted him somewhat from the agony in his cranium. _Somewhat._

"It means: we have something different planned for you, Sasuke. Shikamaru will go over it with you later. But for now, I want to finish what I have to say to you."

"Hn."

"Sasuke. Look at me." Kakashi said, crossing the space between them. "You remember that time you yelled at me, saying I didn't understand you? Having lost everyone in your clan? And I told you, that you were right I couldn't walk in your shoes, because all those close to me were already dead?"

Sasuke looked up through furrowed brows at his once-revered sensei, who had somehow always gotten the closest in bridging the gap between him and the rest of the world whenever he berated him for all of his senseless misdeeds and anger. "Aa." He gave the masked man.

"It was one of the first times I told you not to give in to vengeance. Not that you listened, then. I suppose that's a lesson you had to learn on your own." Kakashi placed a hand softly on the top of Sasuke's head, which was met with his usual scowl, not that it stopped him in his display of affection. It surprisingly enough, made the pounding subside slightly. "Well, I think I was wrong, back then. Because you all became people I couldn't lose after that. I didn't put my ass on the line for you out of a sense of propriety. I did it because you are someone I will fight to save, without the fear of reprimanding you from time to time."

Sasuke looked away again, suddenly feeling like he was back to his childish self, seeking recognition from an elder for his accomplishments. Yet his accomplishments were mostly scandals.

"Don't be like me, Sasuke. You're lucky, luckier than any of us, that you didn't kill us all back then. Because you don't have to shoulder the guilt of taking the lives of those who loved you, as I do. Don't wake up every day, remembering the moment you ruined everything. Go forth, and do what you need to. When you're done, and you come back to tell me of your adventures, you'll see that this place was your home all along."

"…" Sasuke didn't know what to say, so he stared at his hands once more. One of which, wasn't his own, an alien notion to him still. He couldn't admit out loud that Kakashi's hand on his head was really making him feel better, regardless of the burden from his heavy words.

"I'll leave you be, now. Remember, no jutsu for 3 days. In case you haven't heard that a thousand times already." With that he walked towards the door, placing his hand on the lever. As he turned it to vacate the room, a quiet voice said behind him: "Hai…."

Kakashi paused, taking a quick look back before exiting. "…Kaka-sensei." Sasuke finished, and Kakashi grinned as he left.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama, these came for you."

The Sannin looked up from her scrolls, to find Shizune standing before her with a manila parcel, bound at the sides by brown string. "It seems to be a collection of documents, although I didn't open it, so I'm not sure." Shizune handed the package over to the Godaime, who gave her a puzzled look. It was postmarked from the Land of Water. If Mei had needed to contact her, she would have likely done so my messenger hawk. So who was this from?

Tsunade undid the string and ripped apart the crisp wrapping to break the package open, spilling out several pieces of paper folded into threes. They were addressed to all sorts of people: Kakashi, Naruto, Shizune, herself… even Sasuke. The letter for her was particularly thick, taking up three pages. Hastily she split the wax seal to reveal the pages underneath, but was surprised at what she saw.

"They're all… blank." She stated incredulously. _This seems fishy…_ she thought to herself.

She felt the hairs on the back of her neck spike up as she combed through the other letters to various ninja: Shikamaru, Guy-sensei, Lee, Tenten. Interestingly enough, of all the young Konoha shinobi, Sakura and Ino were absent… which lead Tsunade to piece the evidence together. A closer look at the handwriting seemed to confirm her suspicions that these letters had been written by her former apprentice, and as she looked at the back of her own letter, she saw that the text spread across it said: "_It's so hot, I just might make lemonade."_

Tsunade chuckled. _Clever girl…_ She thought. "Tsunade-sama? Who are they from?" Shizune asked.

"I think they are from Sakura."

"But then why are they from the Land of Water? Wasn't she in the Land of Rapids?"

Tsunade pursed her lips at this, thinking aloud: "Maybe she gave them to someone else to post, for when her vessel made its stop there before going to the Land of Lightning."

"But that means –" Shizune started.

Tsunade looked up at her, golden eyes growing the slightest bit wider as she finished, "She must not have felt safe sending them from Port Tota."

"We haven't heard from that nation in some time…" Shizune trailed off, biting her lower lip and fearing the worst.

"Well, now we have, because I'm almost positive these are from her." Tsunade said affirmatively, veering Shizune away from her thoughts. "But how do you know, and why did she send you that strange message?" She asked.

The blonde smirked, and beckoned to her colleague: "Bring me that lamp over there." Shizune shuffled forward, doing as requested. She grabbed the small oil lamp from the corner table and brought it towards the Hokage, settling it on the small wooden desk before her. There was a light above them which seemed to be luminescent enough for the office she occupied, so Shizune surmised the lamp must have been for an ambient or warming effect. As it was, she couldn't understand why the light from it would help anyone see anything more than the giant message on the back of the papers Tsunade was holding. "Now, watch." Tsunade said, and held one of the papers over the lamp.

At first, Shizune expected some grand kind of action, some fancy trick where the message would bring forth a showy ink animal or burst into pieces, but saw nothing happen for a few moments. After starting to think that the fifth Hokage had truly lost it when she began circling the papers slowly over the opening in the lamp, Shizune gasped when small handwriting began to appear on the other side of the pages.

"Tsunade-sama, what…" The Godaime chuckled again. "I guess Sakura wanted us to have a little fun, because this is lemon juice. It shows up when heated, hence, the 'it's hot / lemonade' comment."

"Oh, a riddle. Interesting." Shizune said. Tsunade continued to weave her letter pages over the lamp until the pages were fully covered in writing. Shizune hugged Tonton close to her, not sure she wanted to know just what Sakura had written yet, and not knowing why she felt that way. "Should I make sure these other letters get to their intended recipients?" she asked, longing for something else to do out of this cramped office. Tsunade nodded and cleared her throat, her contemplations blooming and spreading forth from the corners of her mind to the edges of her lips.

"What I find more interesting… Is the fact that Sakura felt the need to write me in invisible ink."

* * *

Two days after from his conversation with the Sixth Hokage, Sasuke had grown incredibly impatient. Hospital food was _not_ to his liking. His arm itched where the electrodes were still attached, and he longed for a shower or at least a bath which didn't consist of him slapping water on his face out of his room's tiny sink. He hadn't felt pain in his arm or his head for at least 24 consecutive hours, which he considered to be adequate enough time to justify ripping off all his wires and bandages. After doing exactly that, he unclipped the sensor which sang his heartbeat aloud from the pulse on his left hand, and left it dangling off its chord as he went in search of whoever could let him out of this place.

The machine let out a steady beep, usually reserved for those whose hearts have stopped, as he walked out down the hall.

* * *

Shikamaru yawned and stretched out his hands behind him, letting them come to rest behind his head, gazing at the clouds as they passed by. "They should have never given you a window." His blonde counterpart jested at his expense. Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Ah, but they gave me _you_, to keep me from looking out of it instead of doing my work." He replied.

"You mean, instead of sleeping on the job?" Temari added with a laugh.

"Quiet, you. Pushing my buttons so early in the morning…" Shikamaru sighed, not seeing the pinkness creeping up the cheeks of the woman behind him. "It's the afternoon." The kunoichi corrected him. Shikamaru scowled. _Why does she always have to be right? _He wondered. "What do you want, anyway?" He asked.

Temari narrowed her eyes. _He's cranky today… more than usual._ She thought, but continued in presenting him with what she carried. She waved a letter in front of his face, causing him to narrow his eyes before snatching it out of her hands. "It's for you, from Sakura…" she stated, trying to gauge his reaction to the female's name.

Thankfully, it wasn't one of interest, so much as one of bewilderment. "I'm supposed to give this one to you too, even though it's addressed to someone else…" she added, giving him another message. "I don't know why…" she trailed off. She knew Shikamaru wouldn't divulge information he wasn't supposed to, but judging by his confusion at receiving the first letter, maybe he'd wonder aloud as to why he was receiving the second? She was so utterly curious…

Her thirst for knowledge was not about to be quenched, however, as Shikamaru simply sighed at reading the name on the second message. "Neeehh… yeah, I'm supposed to see him any day now."

"Really? Has he… returned already?" Temari queried.

"He's in the hospital recovering from his new arm. I wonder if he cried like Naruto." Shikamaru said with his lips forming into the slightest of smiles. He didn't like to think of Naruto in pain, but it was so amusing that he was just so _dramatic _about the whole thing, for far longer than he should have been…

"I didn't cry." A voice from the doorway gloated.

Temari and Shikamaru snapped their heads back towards the sound, to see none other than Sasuke standing in the doorway to Shikamaru's office. He was dressed in all black, his usual attire as of late. "Speak of the devil." The advisor said. "I'm sure Kakashi told you to see me?"

Sasuke gave the slightest of nods. "I figured I wouldn't have to seek you out. You can come sit down I guess. Temari, we're gonna have to be alone for this."

"Hai." Temari said, pouting inwardly, but keeping her face as emotionless as possible. _Damnit… _She thought. _Maybe I'll wriggle it out of him later…_ She added mischievously, exiting the room and walking down the hall, ignoring the ANBU she brushed past.

Sasuke seated himself in the chair facing the shadow ninja, as Shikamaru took a key out of his vest. He used it to unlock a drawer in his desk, taking out of it three thick, black scrolls and several smaller blue ones. Sasuke watched this apprehensively, realising that with every passing second he felt more and more unsteady, like he was on a ship rocking in the waves instead of on sturdy ground. He needed a ballast; a counterweight to balance the tempest brewing in the darkened corners of his mind. Ironically though, as much as he longed for something to put him at ease, he rejected the idea of this abrasive anchor Kakashi and the rest of Konoha had strapped to him. These unsorted rules he had to obey… just what were they, and would he be able to accept them? The thought of being tied down angered him… _But then…._ He protested, as a tiny voice in the back of his head was always there to remind him: _You did this yourself, so you're the one to blame. _

He supposed the voice was right.

"Alright, this shouldn't take too long, although the language is a little… bureaucratic in these things." Sasuke raised a questioning eyebrow. "Once we get down to business, it's not difficult, but just… troublesome." Shikamaru continued. "Like everything else in the world." He finalised.

Sasuke couldn't have agreed more.

* * *

**End of Chapter Six**

* * *

**A/N: **This is actually cut in half from what I wanted it to be, if you can believe it. Obviously I haven't even touched Sakura reaching Aquroya in it, which will be in the next chapter along with Sasuke's feet, itching for a reason to make him run away from Konoha once more. (And trust me, he'll find that reason! But how much will it have to do with our favourite pink-haired ninja? You'll find out! Teehee.)

Hmm. Something else worth mentioning… So I know that I said this would be a Sakura-centric story, but the more I write, the more Sasuke feels like talking to me, and it may end up focusing on him more than I originally intended. I hope that's alright with everyone. I'm sure I'll jump back to her for much longer and we'll see it more through her eyes, but I have to stick with Sasuke more for now if I'm going to justify him getting them together. So bear with me.

_**Also, as stated in the beginning of the chapter, the quotes posted at the beginning are not written by me, but by a band named Chevelle. Please support their work as well as supporting the work of Masashi Kishimoto, author of Naruto.**_

Anyhow, moving along… I said in some earlier notes that I wasn't sure whether to base this before or after events of Naruto: The Last movie. It will dramatically affect how I write the NaruHina. That's actually why I've held off a bit in writing the Naruto and Karin part of this story. I'm going to make it my goal to see it in the next couple of weeks, and then I'll make my decision. The movie has been described as being part of the Naruto canon, even though it's not manga, since Kishimoto had such a heavy hand in it and apparently it includes parts reminiscent of chapter 700 in it. So after my next update, you may see some slight changes in this story. My ultimate desire is to write this as being as canon as possible, something that people could realistically see happening as a Naruto arc. I hope that I can achieve this, but I can only do so if I acknowledge Naruto: The Last as being canon and letting it influence my story. I hope that makes sense, and explains whatever happens even to parts you have seen if I have to alter anything.

Thank you for reading, and please drop a review my way!


	7. Punishment

**.**

* * *

**VISCOSITY**

* * *

**Word Count:** 9819  
**Song:** "Shameful Metaphors" by Chevelle**  
Author's Note: **Same song since it's really part two of the previous chapter. The line below is from the aforementioned song. I did not write it nor do I make money from it in any way. Please support the artist and purchase their works, along with supporting Naruto and purchasing that too. I still haven't seen Naruto: The Last yet, but more on that at my note after the chapter. To be honest, the more I read through the last chapter I posted, the more I detest it, so expect some editing to that soon. To those who read and reviewed, thank you. I hope you like this chapter, as I think it's much better than the last! I'm sorry this took so long. Now that I've survived midterms, I really hope I can speed up my updates - but as you can see, the word count is climbing and climbing, and although I love coming out with long chapters, it does take me a while. So we'll see I guess. Anyway, on to it!

* * *

_**Punishment**_

.

"_The finest river, the ravens tend…  
All along insisting, we're worlds away…"_

.

* * *

At sunset, Sasuke watched the sky turn a kaleidoscope of beautiful colours. The orange glow seeped from the sinking sun up towards clouds bathed in pink and purple, as the pale blue sky faded behind him to midnight black on the other end of the horizon. Stars peeked out, waiting for their turn to shine across the world above. He sat cross-legged on the dock, listening to the waters as they swished against each other, his hands on his knees.

He needed time to assimilate all the information from that afternoon into his mind. His conversation with Shikamaru had not yet solidified in his brain, and it floated in pieces with the past three days around his thoughts. He couldn't tell whether that was from the drugs in the hospital or the sheer amount of knowledge – and restrictions – he'd been given.

"_No one doubts how important you were in saving us. But no one knows you anymore, either. All we know is what you can do, but not who you are."_

The words echoed back and forth across his head, with sounds of the grasshoppers singing outside working their way into his recollections. Sasuke closed his eyes, trying to block out the vivid dusk so he could concentrate on the memory.

* * *

_The small blue scrolls rolled slightly on the desk, as if to taunt him into picking them up and unfurling them. He wanted to know what was inside. He had to read them, to understand them, before he could acknowledge them. This entire ordeal was becoming a grand test of his patience._

"_Alright, so here is everything you need to know. I'm guessing Kakashi lectured you pretty well, huh?" Shikamaru said._

"_Aa." Sasuke replied._

"_Don't tell me he read you that whole speech? What a drag. That thing took forever." the Nara followed. Sasuke squinted his eyes in response. "Oh wow, he actually did. You know, for someone as quiet as he is, he sure can go off on a tangent pretty well. But it's all for the greater good, I suppose. Maybe you just… bring that out in him."_

_Sasuke narrowed his eyes even more._

"_Anyway. These three scrolls are copies of your decree, if you will. You get one, and we keep two. They're all the same, so it doesn't matter which one you take." At this, Shikamaru took one and un-did the knots holding it together. "I'm not going to read all of this, since you can do that yourself. But let's go over a few things. You already know about the months of service to perform in other nations, correct?"_

_Sasuke nodded ever so slightly, eyes angry slits at this point._

"_Right. Well, it's going to work a little differently here. Tsunade knew better than to sequester you here for a period of time, doing who-knows-what. So your sentence here is not determined by month, but rather, by person."_

"_By person." Sasuke repeated, meaning it to be a question, but having it come out as a disdainful statement instead. What the hell was this guy talking about?_

"_Yes. By person. Here…" Shikamaru stated, peering through the blue scrolls until coming upon one in the middle of the pile. He picked it up, and handed it to the raven-haired ninja across form him. "Open this." Sasuke took the scroll and undid its binding, unfurling it to its full length to see the contents. It read:_

"As laid out in the contract issued by the Hokage, Hatake Kakashi and Senju Tsunade,

I, NARA SHIKAMARU, assert that as retribution for crimes against Konoha and the Land of Fire, the accused Uchiha Sasuke shall give compensation to me in the form of:

Saving all of Konoha from great destruction.

To be completed on the following date:

Witnessed by:

Signed:

This agreement is legally binding and can only be unsealed by the present Hokage. Rejection of these conditions will result in a trial for the accused. Failure to comply with the aforementioned terms is punishable by severe penalties including but not limited to lifetime imprisonment."

_Sasuke was never one to gape at something, mouth open, feeling foolish – but if ever a moment lead him closest to such a behaviour, it was this one. "Saving all of Konoha from great destruction?!" He asked incredulously. "What… what is this?"_

_Shikamaru smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "Well of all your actions, I had a short list to choose from as to the ones which were… admirable." Sasuke gritted his teeth in response. "Are you messing with me?" he sneered._

"_No. You can open another, if you don't believe me."_

_Abruptly Sasuke reached for an alternate blue scroll without checking the name first, hastily ripping it open. This one read:_

"As laid out in the contract issued by the Hokage, Hatake Kakashi and Senju Tsunade,

I, YAMANAKA INO, assert that as retribution for crimes against Konoha and the Land of Fire, the accused Uchiha Sasuke shall give compensation to me in the form of:

To be completed on the following date:

Witnessed by:

Signed:

This agreement is legally binding and can only be unsealed by the present Hokage. Rejection of these conditions will result in a trial for the accused. Failure to comply with the aforementioned terms is punishable by severe penalties including but not limited to lifetime imprisonment."

"_It's blank." Sasuke said. "The part where I'm supposed to make…" He struggled to force out the ridiculous word. "_Compensation._" he finished. He couldn't bring himself to mention how the threat of imprisonment reverberated in his mind, sinking deeper and deeper like weights had been attached to his conscience. _

"_Yeah, most people either didn't know what they wanted or we didn't get to ask."_

_Sasuke could feel his blood vessels enlarging, to pump his growing irritation through his veins. He was in between a rock and hard place - that much he was sure of. Part of him was enraged that all of this had been arranged without him; another part knew that he had sins to account for, and who was he to proclaim innocence? This offered him concrete proof of their completion, which he could not achieve on his own. But the threat of imprisonment… The thought of not being free anymore… It was sickening. And terrifying._

"_So… you basically just gave everyone in Konoha a giant I.O.U. card for me?"_

"_Not everyone. But essentially, yes. And look, you've already completed mine, so here's a freebie. I'll sign it as soon as Temari or Shizune come back, to witness it. This is the least burdensome way, to get our little contract over with, since you've already performed this while destroying the giant Tsukuyomi. Now you can focus on the other tasks for other people."_

"_That's nonsense." The Uchiha couldn't fight how ludicrous it all seemed._

"_We figured you'd say that. Luckily I thought ahead." Shikamaru sighed, rolling the large black scroll up once more. "You know what, I changed my mind. I don't need to read from this because it's stiff and boring anyway. I'm going to lay it out for you plain and simple."_

_Sasuke grimaced. He was too intelligent for 'plain and simple,' and he knew Shikamaru was aware of that fact. Of all the Konoha rookies, Shikamaru had perhaps been the easiest to be around, albeit it was a little bothersome that he was so lazy. But so often he seemed to share Sasuke's disdain for useless, foolish things, and Sasuke had always appreciated this. He was also not a loud-mouthed idiot… But even now Sasuke was thinking of a certain loud-mouthed idiot he'd rather see than have to sit and be scolded for actions he was already sorry for._

"_You know what, Sasuke, I get it. You're pissed off that this is late and seems like we're treating you like a child. But did you really think you would just get off scot-free after all you ruined? Running around for years, killing people, attempting to murder Killer B, attacking the entire group of Kage at the summit, joining the Akatsuki, and all the other crap you did?"_

_Sasuke averted his eyes to the floor. _

"_And when were we supposed to instigate this with you? You left _right_ after the fourth Shinobi war and didn't come back for _months. _Anyone in their right mind, upon further thought, would consider us totally, utterly mad for just letting you wander off to your own desires. You're lucky you were part of team Seven at all, because without Sakura, Kakashi, and Naruto especially, you'd probably be chained to the ground right now in some dark cell somewhere. Or, if this were the Land of Lighting, you'd simply be executed._

"_So this is how it's going to work. You're going to read this scroll, and all the others, and carry them with you until you complete all the tasks, no matter how asinine, you've been given. Then and only then can we consider you absolved of everything. We're essentially gifting you an official direction on the road to a clean slate. You should take it while you can get it. Others didn't have the same opportunity."_

_Sasuke clenched his teeth, hating that he felt the need to bite his tongue but also realising he didn't know what to say to all of what he'd just heard. This place between anger and regret… He loathed it. Shikamaru slid the pile of scrolls closer to Sasuke and then placed the other large black ones back in his desk, locking the drawer and putting the key back in his vest. He then leaned back in his chair and placed his hands in his favourite circular thinking position. It was times like these when he really wanted a cigarette, reaching for that last connection to Asuma-sensei he had. But that troublesome sandy blonde, how she annoyed him into quitting them… He'd just have to go without, he supposed. Thinking of her reminded him of the letter she had just given him, and he broke his rounded hands to pick it up and place it on top of the pile of scrolls._

"_By the way, this came for you, apparently." Sasuke ever so slightly raised a rigid eyebrow. Oh great. More rules, perhaps? Hate-mail? "Don't ask, 'cause I don't even know. I just got one myself." Shikamaru added, shaking his head. _

"…" _Sasuke stayed as placid as he could. This conversation was already hard to digest, without any additions._

_Shikamaru leaned back in his chair once more, crossing his arms. "But back to what I was saying. You can gawk at this sentence if you want, or be annoyed by it, or whatever." He said. "But this is child's play considering what _could _have happened to you. You seemed remorseful, but does that make up for all of your crimes? Yes, you were pivotal in the war. No one doubts how important you were in saving us. But no one knows you anymore, either. All we know is what you can do, but not who you are._

"_Tell me, Sasuke." He pondered aloud, squinting at the raven-haired man across from him._

"_Do _you_ even know?" He asked, but was met with only silence._

* * *

Somewhere in his musings, Sasuke had lain down on the dock, his hands clasped underneath his head. He stared up at the sky, wondering how to answer Shikamaru's question, and becoming incensed when he realised he couldn't. He had no idea who he was, in essence. "Oh, I'm the reincarnation of Indra Otsutsuki, son of the Sage of Sixth Paths," didn't roll off the tongue easily, nor was it knowledge Sasuke would readily bequeath to just anyone. He wasn't even sure if he believed it himself, sometimes. Lately all he'd been inside was a muddled mess of nightmares and anger. The only thing he could state about himself with certainty was that he was a shinobi, and the only shinobi left to hold the surname _Uchiha_.

Something about that thought sparked a curiosity in him. He knew it had been three days since his operation, and Kakashi's given time period of not using any jutsu… Tsunade had told him similar limitations, but he had expected as much. He knew it must be something to do with his chakra flow, and making sure the arm adjusted properly, but three days sounded like too long. He wondered if it was so long simply because everyone was still so afraid of him. Those dolts.

Well, it made no matter now. He'd waited, and now it was time to test it out. It had been so long, he was itching to see what he could do. So he stood and brought his hands together, interlocking his right and left fingers to form the serpent symbol. "Mi." He said, feeling the rush of chakra through his hands, spreading throughout his body.

Next, he took his left index and ring finger up, leaning them atop those of his right hand, leaving the rest of the fingers woven together in the symbol for the ram. "Hitsuji," he said, and the chakra began to channel further from his hands to his chest. It was a welcome feeling.

Sasuke exhaled and separated his hands, only to bring them together once more with his right on top of his left, palms touching one another. "Saru." He repeated to himself, letting his words de-crescendo into a near-whisper as he felt the chakra drop down. Halfway there, he inhaled again.

"I." He murmured, bending his wrists and fingers together in the shape of the boar. He could feel it boiling in his abdomen, just like years ago, the first time he had ever done this jutsu in front of his father. More quickly than his other hand seals - for by now he could feel his stomach expanding, putting pressure on his lungs in the process – he flipped his hands up, making his index fingers meet and intertwining the rest in the seal for horse. _Uma_. He recited, this time in his mind as opposed to out loud. His chakra was churning and growing within him, threatening to travel up his lungs…

_Tora._ He thought, bringing his wrists together and forming the final hand seal. _Almost. Almost…_ He thought, tracing the chakra until it was right there, right about to emerge…

_Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!_ He thought, and expelled the flames from his mouth until they extended far beyond the dock. He gave it every last breath, watching as the colossal fireball lit up the waters below, reflecting the last remaining orange colour of the setting sun. It felt _amazing_, this burning release; this great exhalation of his talents and tension in a single blow. It had been so long, he hadn't even noticed how badly he thirsted for it. A smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth as the flames diminished, the memories of his first time performing the jutsu for his father pulling back at him. It was a piece of pride he kept close, one that had never been tainted by everything else in his screwed up past.

As the flames died down entirely, the last Uchiha watched the sun sink fully beneath the horizon, calling the stars out to take its place. The water rippled slowly under the dock, and spring frogs began a soft song on the edges of the lake. In the quiet twilight, he moved to sit again, until he saw his left hand – it was shaking, ever so slightly.

"Nani…?" he said to himself, bringing it up for closer inspection. The tiny tremors were taunting him, begging for control, yet they disobeyed his commands… He tried to bend and flex his fingers, finding they would not move all the way and were delayed in the movements they did achieve. He raised his right hand to grip his left, to still the trembling, until a sudden tightening in his chest stopped his movements entirely. His vision doubled and he swayed, catching himself on the post of the dock. Searing pain traveled up the shaking left arm that had narrowly stopped his fall until it reached his heart, his right hand flew to grab where the agony lay in his chest, and then…

Sasuke collapsed on the boards, the stars spiraling in his eyes until the whole world turned black.

* * *

"Ino-chan! Good to see you." The small brunette squeaked, rushing past the counter to give the tall beauty a hug. Ino smiled and embraced her in return, inhaling the sweet, familiar scents of the Yamanaka flower shop. "Thank you, Hiroko. How are you? How are things?" She replied.

Hiroko broke free and tucked a stray wisp of brown hair behind her ear. "Oh, it's not the same without you, but, you know. It's busy. We had two weddings last week, an engagement party, and a funeral. It was crazy!" The girl bubbled. Ino had always enjoyed Hiroko's vivaciously happy personality. "Wow, sounds like you've had your work cut out for you." She told the girl. "Oh yes, and with the extension being built at the hospital, there's heaps and heaps of people coming through here every day!"

Ino beamed. Moments like these reminded her that her past few weeks of little to no sleep, suffering the onslaught of new responsibilities at every turn, were worth it. Beyond the smell of freshly cut wood and construction mud lay the beginnings of a beautiful glass greenhouse, and just two days ago she had passed it, admiring the workers as they carved out the word, "Inoichi" into a giant wooden beam. Each time she saw it on her way to work, her eyes stung a little, but her heart swelled with pride.

"Some things came for you the other day; I'm sorry I didn't get anyone to run them over to you." Hiroko energetically said to the medic-nin, interrupting her thoughts. The bell of the shop door jingled as two men walked in, boisterously arguing about something. "Ohayo! Welcome to the Flower Shop! I'll be right with you!" Hiroko chimed as earnestly as the bell three seconds before. "Um, let me get them for you, I'll be right back." She said, and rushed to the back room.

Ino shook her head slightly, amused at the girl's energy. No sooner had she turned to help the men herself than Hiroko appeared with two letters and a small box in tow. "I don't know what this is, but I think it's files or something, for the hospital. And these were addressed to the Shop, but to you." She said as she handed the items over. "Thanks, Hiro-"

"I'm telling you, her favourite colour is _yellow_, so go with that!" One of the men shouted to the other. Hiroko gave Ino an apologetic look. "Sorry! See you later!" she said, walking over to the arguing pair. "It's alright, thank you!" Ino called out, leaving the girl to tend to her customers. She looked outside and sighed. The sun was higher now, telling her to hurry back to the hospital lest she be late for her morning meeting. Ino felt tired just thinking about it.

She absent-mindedly brushed past the men on her way out, reading the addresses on the envelopes. The first one seemed to be a letter from the Village Hidden in the Rain, probably regarding their new transfer medics, and the second was from – "The Land of Water?" Ino thought aloud. Who did she know there? It must be someone from one of the sister hospitals, she surmised – at least, until she saw that the address of the Yamanaka Flower Shop was written in a different handwriting than that of the return address, and it looked familiar, almost like…

Abruptly Ino stopped in her tracks, eyes widening. She slammed the package and the other letter onto the edge of a vendor's stand near the shop, almost knocking both pieces over in her haste. "Excuse me miss, you'll have to get those off of there." The vendor said. Ino waved away his concerns with a flippant hand as she focused her entire energy on opening the letter. Hands now shaking, she ripped open the envelope to expose the paper underneath, and unfolded it, finding that her suspicions were entirely correct:

The letter was from Sakura.

* * *

He was gasping when he rose, dripping in sweat, his right hand sore from clenching his chest for so long. The dragonflies who had made their resting place on his toes suddenly flew off, disturbed by his unexpected movement. Sasuke's eyes burned as he slowly registered the dock under his body, and the splinter it had lodged in his thigh. It was nothing compared to the pain radiating from his heart down through the ring finger on his left arm. It felt like a giant needle had been thrust under his nail, leaking poison into his veins until it settled in his chest, and it took all of his energy to keep from screaming as he gradually came to sit up on the planks. Just in time, too, for a few seconds after shoving himself up he heaved what little he had left in his stomach into the waters below the dock. He shut his eyes forcefully, trying to will the misery to cease.

After a few minutes of hanging over himself, desperately clinging to his breaths to steady them, the sounds of the world came into focus, and after that, the smells. The air was cool, but fresh, and sweet with the promise of spring. Sasuke would have appreciated this more, had he not been in considerable pain. But as it was, even opening his eyes back up was irritating; his vision was overwhelmed with how bright everything was as the sun reflected off the water.

_It's already morning?_ Sasuke wondered. Well, this was certainly frightening: he'd been out cold the whole night. _At least I lived through it._ He thought.

The pangs in his chest were stinging him fiercely now, and he didn't want to waste any more time pondering their origin. Something in him was wrong, very wrong, and he thought it might be deadly if he let it continue. Should he go to the hospital?

_Screw that._ He thought. _Anywhere but there. _However, he knew he had to find someone who could help him fix this. Sasuke forced himself to stand, although it took a great deal more effort than he had anticipated, and he took a few minutes to steady himself. Who could he go to?

Sasuke rattled his brain for the answer, knowing he had to find it before he set off in whatever direction he was headed, for he anxiously thought he might not have the time or ability to turn around if he changed his mind. Tsunade _might_ help him, although finding her might be difficult, and with all those ANBU to worry about. Ino was probably at the hospital, and who knew if she even had enough expertise to diagnose him. That meant the only one left, the only person who he could think of who had been at his operation and knew how to fix his chakra channels, if that was indeed the problem, was…

Hyuuga Hinata.

Sasuke sighed, and would have shaken his head in frustration had he not been so unwilling to move any more than he had to. Did he even remember where the Hyuuga mansion was? Another throb in his chest gave him the answer: he _had_ to remember, and _fast_. Hopefully Tsunade was right about that Hinata had "already forgiven" him.

* * *

Ino was distracted on the rest of her walk to work that morning. Twice, she bumped into other people on the street, and had to awkwardly apologise. She didn't mean to be so clumsy, but she couldn't get Sakura's words out of her mind. They enveloped her, weighing her down and clouding her vision as they careened through her mind.

* * *

_Ino-Pig!_

_I miss you already. How are things at the hospital? I'm so sorry I had to leave so suddenly… I don't know how much you've been told, to be honest I wasn't told much myself. Right now I'm on my way to the Land of Rapids to tend to the gardens._

_Speaking of gardens, how is the Flower Shop? Do you even have time to work there, when you're doing so much already? And have you gotten any new students yet?_

_I wanted to send you a bouquet, but I'm worried it wouldn't make it there in time. I was thinking of sending some country roses, but I don't think they bloom in Hayase no Kuni. That's my impression, anyway. I'm told I desperately need to plant some yarrow and mint, but the chrysanthemums are invasive where I'm supposed to seed. I guess I'll find out when I get there. Hopefully I can sneak some anthurium and amaryllis in there as well? All this planting; I'm exhausted just thinking about it! Especially since I don't even know who's going to help me with it. I'm worried I'm going to get there and only find petunias and aster flowers; wouldn't that be just my luck?_

_I hope you get the angelica and daffodils in this year, instead of the orange mock and monkshood. And please, no oleander! There's already too much._

_Have the bleeding hearts come in yet? It's that time of spring… I'm sorry to miss it. I wonder if they have any where I'm going. _

_People on the ship are… interesting, but strange. I wonder what the Benisu are like. Say, do you think I'll run into Bando? It won't be as fun, without our little fox to taste-test the plants for our amusement. Oh well._

_I'll try to write as often as I can, but I don't know what the postal situation is going to be. I wish I had that Yamanaka charm to get through to everyone, although I know there's a limit to the distance. I'll try to send some zinnia and alstroemeria your way soon._

_So long, sweet pea,_

_Sakura_

* * *

If she didn't put so much effort into maintaining her heathy nails, Ino would have chewed them off at this point. Thanks to the letter, she was filled with worry about her best friend. The fact that Sakura had resorted to flower symbolism to communicate with her already signified her distrust with the situation, but the ones she had chosen… The message was clear: it was a warning, and she fervently wanted Ino to heed it.

Just what was in the Land of Rapids, anyway? Apparently Sakura was doing something medical there, as she said she needed to plant yarrow and mint, meaning the prevention of illness and healing. Anthurium and amaryllis hinted that she was… Supposed to bring people together, in harmony? Ino wasn't sure. Perhaps Tsunade was having Sakura do something similar to Ino, heading up some hospital there?

But what for… That thought scared Ino most of all. Invasive chrysanthemums? Petunias and aster flowers? Did Sakura think all that awaited her were nasty surprises of anger and death?

Ino was now a few feet from the hospital. She looked over to the "Inoichi" sign that still sat on the ground, and bit her lip at the sight. Her father's blood pressure would have increased tenfold upon reading such a letter, although he never would have shown it. His kunoichi daughter wanted to do the same, to steady herself before the barrage of interns and medic-nin assaulted her with questions and permission slips as soon as she set foot in the hospital.

She couldn't help but feel anxious, though, for two flowers in particular stuck out in her mind: monkshood, and oleander. Sakura knew what she was doing in using those blooms. She was telling Ino that something was coming, something big, something horrible, and something… To beware.

* * *

"Are you feeling better now, Sasuke-kun?" Hinata asked, handing him a glass of water. "Aa." He said, gratefully accepting it. He sat on the steps, staring into a space Hinata couldn't make out in the training ground of the Hyuuga compound. An attendant nervously approached them from Hinata's right, but she shook her head to signal the attendant to leave. The girl scurried away, happy to find something else to do.

Sasuke still wasn't over the strangeness of it all. He had fought tooth and nail to get to the Hyuuga residence, somehow – _somehow –_ remembering where it was even in his anguish. With the agonizing pain seeping through him, he had trudged what felt like forever until reaching the gate. He had almost toppled over several times, thankfully when no bystanders were there to witness it. His arm had felt as if a kunai had been lodged inside of it, slowly expanding until it extended into his lungs, growing larger still with every pounding heartbeat. Finally, with his breathing laboured, he had nearly collapsed into the door of Hinata's home.

The attendant who had answered - seeing Sasuke almost keeling over by the wooden entrance - had been very confused, indeed. "State your business." He had said matter-of-factly, trying not to betray his shaky words. He knew who the Uchiha was, but had no idea _why_ he was attempting to visit the Hyuuga mansion. Was he planning to attack, feigning a pitiful stance and need of comfort? Had he been attacked himself, by someone who held a grudge against him, and the Hyuuga home happened to be nearest to the location he had been struck? A million possibilities had roamed through the guard's mind, but he settled upon none.

"Hin…na…ta." Sasuke had forced out, feeling like the stone walls and dark clay roof where going to fall down on him at any moment. The pain had started to spread everywhere at this point, and he was feeling more powerless by the second – _not_ a feeling he was used to.

The guard had been even more perplexed by this, but given that the ninja's and Hinata's mutual friendship with Naruto was common knowledge, he had supposed it was possible they were acquaintances. She hadn't mentioned that she was going to expect anyone today, however. Trying to find an answer to the situation, the guard had told him: "Wait here." He could go ask Hinata herself just what was happening, and there was no way a shinobi of this powerful yet questionable status was going to enter the compound for no reason.

Hinata had been more than surprised when the guard had interrupted her training with Hanabi to tell her she had a visitor. "Who?" she had asked. If it had been any of her common friends, like Ino or Sakura, wouldn't they have been let in without hesitation?

"Uchiha Sasuke." The guard had replied. Hanabi's eyes went wide as she stared at her sister. "Onee-chan… Why is he here?"

Hinata wiped sweat from her brow. "I don't know. Did he say anything?" She had asked.

"No…" the guard had anxiously replied. "He seems…" Dare he say it? "Hurt."

"Hinata, what's going on?" Hanabi asked then. "I… I'll be right back, Sorry, Hanabi. We'll finish later, okay?" Hanabi had pouted her lip, but said nothing. "Hinata-sama, I don't think we should let him in…" The guard had nervously stated. He clearly wasn't coming for a social visit, not that that would have been acceptable anyway…

Hinata was already brushing past him when he spoke, knowing that she hadn't any time to waste. "Hinata-sama!" He had called after her. She didn't stop to wait.

"Byakugan!" She had shouted, activating her ability to its fullest potential as she ran across the dirt yard. When she had thrown open the doors to the compound and found Sasuke, pale as a ghost and kneeling on the ground, she had immediately assessed his channels. Whatever he had done to himself was atrocious… His chakra was barely flowing, the tenketsu growing dimmer and dimmer except for…

Hinata had gasped then, seeing just how close he had been to death at that moment. Instantly she was hitting him in various tenketsu, trying to re-route the damage stemming from the clots which _riddled_ the channel from his left arm to his heart. He had been fading rapidly, until she had prodded the very last pinpoint of chakra, screaming at it in her mind to go where it needed to. Sasuke had lost his grip on the ground at this point, and she dove under him, to prevent him from falling sideways onto the hard stone. She had lowered him slowly to the ground then, not prepared for his weight. "Sasuke-kun, please breathe…" He had been turning grey, and she had feared the worst. She had lain him down on his back after lowering him, telling him softly to _just keep breathing, just keep breathing…_

Gradually, as his lungs had filled back with air and the black had started to recede from the corners of his vision, Sasuke came back to reality – but only somewhat. When his eyes had rolled back into his head once more, Hinata had done the only thing she could think of – she had slapped him, as hard as she could, across his face.

The shock of the smack had jolted Sasuke back from his fading consciousness. He breathed in sharply, and deeply, until he regained his senses. Hinata had shaken him slightly, then. "Sasuke-kun! Can you hear me? Are you alright?" She had asked fearfully. "You have to wake up! Are you okay? SASUKE-KUN!" she had fervently yelled.

"Alright. Yes." He had said, still a little off, but not lost entirely. He had then closed his eyes and felt his body sink into the ground, glad to be alive once more. Hinata then sat back, letting him regain his bearings in the quiet. They had stayed like this for maybe half of an hour before Sasuke was able to sit up, feeling Hinata's apprehensive eyes on him. He hadn't known how to say thank you to her again, so he had looked at her through his thick, obsidian bangs with what he hoped was gratitude instead. Hinata had swallowed and told him to stand when he was ready, and when he was she had directed him inside, fighting the urge to try and support him for she had suspected it wasn't something he let just anyone do… Even if she had just saved his life.

When they had chosen a place to rest on the steps, Hinata had told him to wait, for she would be right back. Sasuke had done as she requested, until she had returned with the water.

And now they sat, feeling the awkward, silent tension grow. Neither of them were great and lengthy speakers, but it was for completely different reasons which didn't lend themselves to the situation. After a few more reticent minutes, Hinata finally summoned the courage to speak first.

"Sasuke-kun… what happened? What did you do?"

Sasuke gulped down his water and placed the glass between them on the steps. "…I used my clan's fireball jutsu."

"And then what? How long did it take you to get here?"

"I used it yesterday. Then I passed out on the dock."

"…Yesterday?" Hinata asked incredulously. "What happened today?"

Questions, questions. Sasuke didn't like questions. But he owed it to the woman to answer, didn't he? "I woke up." He said to her.

"And?"

"I…" How could he possibly explain the torment he had just experienced? "It… Hurt, from my arm to my chest. I had sweat in my sleep… I couldn't breathe." He pushed the words out of him like they were poison. It was all too unreal.

"And then you came here?" Hinata queried.

"Yes." He finished. The heiress folded her hands together to still her fraying nerves. "Sasuke-kun…" she whispered, staring at her thumbs. "How did you even make it? You could have died."

The wind started to blow over them, lifting their hair into the air in the process, letting their black strands float around them peacefully. Hinata's eyes stung as she continued to gaze at her hands. She tried to stifle a sniffle, but it came anyway. She tried to steady her shaky breath as Sasuke turned to her, utterly confused.

"…What's is it?" He asked. Was she crying?

Indeed, the heiress raised a hand to her eye to wipe the tears away. What was happening? Sasuke was perplexed. What was her deal? Hinata sniffled once more. "Sasuke-kun…" She started. "You don't get it."

"Spit it out, already." He told her. He was in no position to boss her around, but he'd rather she just get to the point, since he had no idea what was going on. Dirt started to swirl off the ground, drifting around them like foam on the waves of the sea. Hinata lowered her hands to her knees, trying to calm herself before she spoke once more.

"I know… we're not friends." She said. Sasuke swallowed, still watching her. "I don't know you, at all, and you've never really talked to me much, but… Sasuke-kun, you are… Important to me." The Uchiha blinked his onyx eyes in surprise. He didn't know whether to be weirded out or thankful for the sentiment. It made no sense, but then, she had just saved his life - and now at least he had a better clue as to why.

"If you died, everything would change. Don't you know how devastated Naruto would be? And Sakura? Naruto is…" _The love of my life? My reason for breathing? _She thought to herself. There was no way to explain her feelings for Uzumaki Naruto; how much it hurt that he was off on some mission without her, how tormented she had been all the years he was chasing after the very man who sat before her now… How suffocating it was, for her to be able to do _nothing_ for so long. And how astonished she was now, seeing Sasuke react just to the mention of Naruto's name; he tried to hide the slightest twitch at the corner of his eye, but she had seen it all the same.

"Naruto and Sakura…" she changed words to include the both of them, and save herself from the embarrassment of declaring her infatuation. "They are my important people. They're part of my family, and a part of me. If they were without you –"

"Naruto and Sakura aren't even here. They're without me right now, and they're probably getting along just fine." Sasuke told her, looking away across the compound. He wrapped his right arm around his bent right leg, feigning the most casual of stances. But Hinata, who saw the grief in his stance, and heard the trepidation hidden in his rushed voice, wasn't fooled. She was sweet, but not naïve. War had made her that way.

"Sasuke-kun." She stated more forcibly than before, the trembling gone from her voice. "Something is very wrong with you." He hardened his jaw at this, narrowing his eyes as he continued to look away from her. He poked his new hand at the pebbles by his feet, an idle motion to keep it busy. "I don't know what it is… Maybe the new cells don't interact with yours correctly, like they're a different chakra nature or blood type or… or… I don't know, but it's _something_ that has to do with that arm. It's affecting your chakra network to an obscene degree, and if you don't fix it, you're done for."

Sasuke began to pick up the rocks from the ground at the bottom of the steps, shifting them around in his hand to prove his control of it to himself. It didn't block out her words like he had hoped. "And what do I do about it? Chop it off again? Have you follow me around and deal with me in case another attack happens?"

Hinata shook her head. The best person to deal with this, who knew enough about him and his body to assess the problem _and_ solve it without condition because she loved him without restraint was missing right now. Hinata had gotten some letter from her the day before, and remembering her words let a strange calm come over her. The wind died down until the air was still around them, and Hinata leaned back on her hands on the steps. "Sakura-chan would be the best person to see…" She mumbled. Sasuke clenched the pebbles tight in his hand, and glared at her. "Oh really? I guess I'll just stroll down to see her, then?" He said sarcastically.

"But since she's not here, you're only option is Tsunade. You already know that, though… I guess." Hinata finished. Sasuke ceased his glaring and focused back on the rocks. "Hn." he said, hating that she was right. He put the pile of pebbles back on the ground and fished around for a flattened one, and began skipping it across the compound, pretending the field before them was a pond. "What do you want from me?" He asked quietly, changing the subject.

Hinata was taken aback. "Sasuke-kun? I don't want anything from you… You don't owe me for this." She said.

Sasuke sighed. "No. I mean…" he skipped another rock across the way. "For compensation. Your scroll was blank." _Just like most of the others._ He thought. Hinata cocked her head to the side, until the memory came back from a few months ago, when she had been asked to write a task for Sasuke's reparation scrolls. She hadn't a clue of what to put then, and she certainly didn't now. "I don't know." She answered.

"Tch." Sasuke grunted, skipping the stones more fervently now. "None of you do. Or so it seems." He said. Hinata could hear the annoyance in his voice. Perhaps he wasn't so akin to the idea of compensating the people of Konoha.

Hinata breathed deeply, looking around to their left. Hanabi had come out, still dressed in her training garb, to practise her hits on the tree with the mat nailed to it: her favourite spot when she had to be alone. She felt bad for stopping their session when her sister had so little time to spend with her these days as it was. Both of them were laden with duties of the Hyuuga, with what felt like more responsibility in maintaining the clan being put on their plates in every passing minute. What would Hinata be like, without her sister to help shoulder the burden? She tried to put herself in Sasuke's place, to understand him rather than pity him. How would she feel in his position? If she came home one day to find Hanabi drenched in blood from killing her entire clan, telling her to seek out her vengeance when she wasn't so weak? If she completed that revenge, only to feel emptier and more betrayed by everyone? It would have driven anyone mad.

And what would it be like, to lose enough control to hurt almost everyone around her - the few people left who cared? Until only Naruto remained to try and save her from herself, and even after succeeding to do so, still carrying the hate of so much of the world? What would it be like to return to Konoha and be told about her punishment from the ninja who had previously worked so hard to save her? She couldn't entirely fathom it… But she did know the feeling of eyes being on her at all times, watching every move. She knew what it was like to be kicked to the side – by her own family, no less.

"I don't have to matter to you, Sasuke-kun." She started. The rock he was skipping went sideways and rolled across the field to the grass, his aim being skewed by his reaction to her unexpected answer. "I don't need you to do anything for me, or the Hyuuga, or even Hanabi. You've already saved us from everything." Sasuke gave up on the rocks, wiping the dust from his hands and bending his other leg up to rest both his arms on top of his knees, clasping the hands together. "I'm sure you have enough scrolls full of arduous tasks and things you don't want to do. But I don't hate you or expect anything of you. I just want you to live. Not for me, but for Sakura, and Naruto."

Hinata stood slowly, and extended a hand out to Sasuke to help him do the same. Sasuke _never_ took this offer from people usually. But Hinata was different – warmer, more serene. He knew she was aware of how much stronger he was than her, and how thinking he could ever need her help up was ridiculous. "I don't pity you." She said, reading his thoughts. "I'm here for you, Sasuke-kun." Her hand lowered slightly, but the offer still hung in the air. Cautiously, Sasuke put his right hand in hers. They pulled against one another until he was upright, and in that moment Sasuke understood she was his ally: for she, wanting nothing in return, would always help him stand.

"Arigato." He said, taking his hand from hers and resting it on his hip. "So what do you wish to put on the scroll? It can't be nothing."

"Do you have it?"

"…" Sasuke thought for a moment. He knew he had taken it with him from the dock, but as he looked around, he didn't see it. "Ah… I think we left it on the porch." he said. Hinata blushed. "Oh." she said, embarrassed that she had forgotten it when he was obviously in no state to remember his own belongings. She swallowed guiltily and walked with him towards the entrance to the compound, and upon reaching the door, he bent down to retrieve his pack from the ground. Fishing around in it for a moment, he found her scroll and handed it to her with a pen. Hinata unrolled it and bit her lip, trying to think of something.

Abruptly the idea struck her, and she quickly wrote a single word, handing it and the pen back to Sasuke. His eyes went wide at reading it, and he looked at her. "Just that? That's not really a task." Hinata stepped forward, rolling the scroll up and sealing it while it was still in his hands, then pushing it to his chest. "You should see Tsunade, and find out what's going on. That's all I want of you, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke put the scroll back in his bag with the pen and closed it, grabbing the strap of it with his hand to shift its weight. He did have to see her, but he certainly had no intention of telling her about his malfunctioning arm. His wounds were always fast to patch themselves up, and he would figure this out on his own. He'd have to figure out how to complete her scroll another way; thankfully she hadn't been specific.

After all, the only thing she'd written had been, "heal."

"…I will see Tsunade." He assured her. _But not for the reason you might want._ He added in his mind.

* * *

"He came in yesterday, with signs of a slight fever and nausea. We thought it was the flu, so we sent him home with a prescription and an order to drink fluids."

Ino shook her head. "How much did you look into his symptoms beyond that? There isn't a flu going around." She was disappointed in this new crew, as of late. They were inexperienced, and she had so little time to train them otherwise.

"We've been buried with work in the rehabilitation unit from war injuries… All of our personnel and funds go there."

"I'm aware." Ino sternly told the red-headed nurse. "But the fact that he's back today, and in such a worse condition, leads me to question if he received the proper care _yesterday_."

The young medic hung her head. "Please forgive me, Ino-sama."

It was strange to hear her name with that suffix, but it was starting to grow on Ino. However, she had less time to appreciate it given the circumstances. The moment her meeting with the heads of staff at the hospital was over, she was approached by the young medic Aki about a man with a rather odd assortment of ailments they couldn't identify. Most cases of diagnoses were beneath Ino's duties at this point, but Aki seemed determined to ask her about it. Her hushed voice indicated an ashamed demeanor, and something else Ino couldn't quite place. Something secretive, like Aki and her colleagues didn't want anyone to know about this sick man.

"Why is this _my_ concern right now, Aki? What's really going on here?" Ino asked, venting some of her frustrations.

The flame-haired woman shifted her feet awkwardly. "Um…" she started, beads of sweat forming on her forehead. "Ino-sama, we just… It's something we haven't seen before. It's not the flu. His fever is rising, and his symptoms are getting… stranger."

"Stranger." Ino repeated. Sakura's words whispered to her from the back of her mind. _People on this ship are… interesting, but strange._

"Has he recently traveled? Have you checked for foreign ailments?" Ino asked, Sakura's words inspiring her to think in different directions.

"We're doing a complete blood count now, but I'll add that to the list. It's been horrendous just trying to get his fever down. And he writhes in pain whenever we try to insert the I.V."

"Well then _hold him down._ You can do it, Aki. If the chakra channels are not the problem, you must do everything to find out what is."

_And please, no oleander! There's already too much._ Ino exhaled, trying to breathe the ominous thoughts away. Something was already off about this day.

"Yes, Ino-sama. I'll get on it." The medic affirmed.

"Thank you, Aki." Ino said, trying to conceal the worry that plastered the walls of her head. She had appointments to make, and this distraction wasn't helping. Especially when Tsunade was waiting for her at the current moment… But the thought of Tsunade only reminded her of Sakura more. _I'm worried I'm going to get there and only find petunias and aster flowers; wouldn't that be just my luck?_ The thought echoed in her head.

_It would be mine, too._ Ino replied inwardly, making her way down the hall.

* * *

Tsunade wasn't in her small office when Sasuke went to find her. In fact, most of her possessions weren't either; it looked as if she was moving out of the place altogether. Boxes were on the desk and the chair, which had been shoved in the corner, and the room was absent of any and all knick-knacks save for a small lamp across from the desk. Sasuke furrowed his brow. Where could she be? He just wanted to get this over with.

He walked to Kakashi's office only to find it also vacant of its owner. After seeing the same of Shikamaru's workplace, Sasuke clenched his right fist. If they were all missing, there must be some kind of important meeting somewhere, which meant he might not find _any_ of them for a while. He would have to figure out where they were. Asking the ANBU were out of the question, and Shizune wasn't around which meant… Sasuke rolled his eyes. The only place he could think to go, to find Shizune or Tsunade, would be the hospital. _Damnit…_ He thought. It was the last place he wanted to go right now. Hopefully through Hinata's handiwork and his generally intimidating demeanor he wouldn't be approached by nurses or medic-nin regarding his worn-out condition. _Hopefully._

So, he made his way through the Konoha streets, stopping only to purchase an orange from a fruit stand. Replenishing his vitamin C, he knew, was probably a good idea. The tomatoes at a nearby vendor tempted him, with their luscious, red skins and their plump, round shapes… But he ignored them, telling himself he'd have his fill of them when he was free of his business at the hospital, provided he didn't lose his appetite entirely.

The day was warmer than the previous one, and the sun shone down joyfully on the people milling about their daily life. Sasuke watched a small bluebird as it rummaged through a rubbish bin for a straw-like object with which to build its nest. It flew off as he tossed the orange peel into it, and he hoped it would stay down. He was certainly feeling better than this morning, but with this arm, he really just didn't know what to expect anymore. And Hinata wasn't around to save him whenever he needed it…

Not that he'd ever admit he needed saving.

* * *

"I was wondering when you'd be back to see me. How's the arm?" The Godaime asked him when he had finally found her. She was apparently in some meeting with Ino, which was testing Sasuke's nerves. He really didn't want anyone fawning over him right now; Hinata had done enough of that for one day. Or at least, she had fulfilled his quota of people caring for him.

"It's fine." Sasuke half-lied. Well, thanks to the Hyuuga, it was. "I came to ask about these." Sasuke said, pulling the two blue scrolls out of his pack and putting them on the table in front of Tsunade. Her eyes widened and a mischievous smile played at the side of her lips.

"So you've talked to Shikamaru. Good. How was the discussion?" She asked, eyes brightening. She was enjoying this far too much.

"Late." he replied, a great summation of his feelings on their timeliness for the entire ordeal.

"Did you like our idea for your redemption?" She was growing more beamish by the second.

Sasuke stayed silent, imagining what it would be like to use his Chidori on the entire room. How much could he get away with, before they slapped chakra constraints on him? Would it really get out all the anger that was brewing in him from the acquisition of these stupid scrolls? _Probably not._ He thought to himself, trying to dispel the fantasy.

"I'll take that as a negative. Have you read my scroll yet?"

"No." Sasuke replied.

"Well then, open it now." Tsunade instructed. Sasuke sighed and grabbed it off the table, unfurling it to see just what she wanted him to do.

He was not prepared for what he saw.

"Is this a joke?" He asked, pressing his tongue behind his teeth, to keep from exploding. _She has got to be kidding._ He thought.

The blonde broke into a full grin, leaning forward on one hand. "Most certainly not. What did you expect of me? Hard labour? Babysitting the genin? I'm not naïve, Sasuke."

"This is… this is just…" the Uchiha was at a loss for words. He reread the task over and over, hoping that it would change if he just stared at it long enough.

It didn't.

"Before going on this journey in search of atonement, you wasted away your time in anger and vengeance. You took people's lives unnecessarily, Sasuke. It's time you start saving them, instead."

Sasuke suppressed a sneer. "And how am I supposed to do this, exactly?" He asked.

"Ino and I were just discussing it, actually." Tsunade replied, clasping her hands together on the table. The room was staunch, and bureaucratic. Tsunade and Ino sat in stiff-looking rolling chairs around a wooden, ovular table, framed by windows overlooking the village behind them. The sunshine outside was a stark contrast to the madness that was happening in Sasuke's thoughts. Fluorescent light shone down on the three ninja, and Sasuke felt suffocated by it.

"Tsunade-sama, what…" Ino started. They had been discussing improvements to the hospital training before Sasuke had randomly appeared in the conference room, looking handsome and annoyed, as he usually did. But as attractive as he was, they certainly weren't talking about him…

"Hand the scroll over to Ino, please." The Godaime asked. Sasuke begrudgingly did so, succumbing to the urge to grit his teeth. It was a bad habit now, but he couldn't help it. "Have you decided what your _compensation_ is yet?" He asked the younger blonde, thinking he might as well get it over with as soon as possible.

When Ino took the scroll from his rigid hands, a wave of recognition flooded over her. Her scroll… She had had no idea what to put on it, when Shikamaru had presented it to her months and months ago. Could she ask for anything? _Anything?_ He could work in the Flower Shop, next to her – she could feel him near her every day for weeks if she wanted…

Ino shook her head, fighting the blush that wanted to climb to her cheeks. _Control yourself, lady! _She chastised her desires.

"I have not. Sorry." She answered him, as securely as she could without giving her smitten thoughts about him away.

"Hn." Sasuke replied, crossing his arms and looking out the window behind them. _Figures._ He thought. Nothing was ever easy, was it?

Ino looked down, not really seeing the scroll at first. He was supposed to do what _she_ asked of him, how was it that he made her feel so bashful for not knowing what that was yet? "Ino can take you downstairs and show you around, to start. We'll discuss the remainder of our itinerary later, Miss Yamanaka." Tsunade said, bringing Ino's thoughts back to reality.

The kunoichi inhaled deeply, reading through the familiar script of the scroll, coming to the underlined part where her master had specified just what was irking Sasuke so terribly at the moment. It read:

"I, SENJU TSUNADE, assert that as retribution for crimes against Konoha and the Land of Fire, the accused Uchiha Sasuke shall give compensation to me in the form of:

Learning medical ninjustu and assisting in the care and treatment of war victims for no less than six months."

"Oh wow…" Ino said, not meaning to say it aloud. The blush she had been fighting was winning its way onto her face. How in the world was this going to happen? Ino was totally lost. Leave it to Tsunade to shake things up completely before she left.

_This day is just getting weirder and weirder._ She thought, lamenting the fact that the one person she wanted to help her through it was worlds and worlds away. _So long, sweet pea_ she thought to Sakura, wondering if it would travel across the ocean. It was the saddest part of the letter, and it made Ino's heart sink lower in her chest upon remembering it…

Because sweet pea flowers meant _goodbye_.

* * *

**End of Chapter Seven**

* * *

**Author's note:** Would you believe me if I told you that I still had to cut this way off from what I wanted it to be? I'm really having a time changing my chapter layouts around haha. It was going to be over 12,000 words! Gah! Once again, I'm sorry it took me so long. Anyway, moving on… As stated in the beginning author's notes, I haven't seen Naruto: The Last yet. With my schedule being as packed as it is, it's looking more and more like I'm not going to get to see it anytime soon. It doesn't help that there are no theatres playing it in my area. I watched this summary of it online, but I'm conflicted. (Apparently Sasuke is in it for like 10 seconds, which is total BS but whatever…) There are some inconsistencies with that and what I've read on Narutopedia, and I'm going to have to do some research or find a good quality copy of it… So let's say this: by chapter ten, I will have made my decision along with any changes I have to make to the previous chapters. I was planning to do an editing job once I reached that chapter anyhow, so this'll give me a chance to do everything I want to do. Hopefully this appeases everyone!

By the way, does anyone have any thoughts on my assumption that Tsunade's last name is Senju? I looked all over for it and people in forums were apparently wondering the same thing, so I just thought it might as well be the same as her grandfather's. They never even talk about her mother or father, so I have no idea if Hashirama had a son and then passed the name down to Tsunade or if he had a daughter who took on someone else's name… Ugh. Too confusing. Anyway, let me know what you think, please.

_**As stated previously, the quotes at the beginning are by a band named Chevelle, not me. I make no claim to them nor do I make money off of them. Please support the artists and purchase their works. **_

Thanks for reading, and please leave me a review! ; )


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